School days
by Tashasaphi
Summary: It's over! *snivel* School Day's is finished. The Epilogue is up, and i warn you, it's a bit confusing. All will be revealed later... Dangerous Pastime is the next fic in the series. the first 2 chappies (which are up) are prologues. Ts xx
1. Chapter 1

School days.  
  
The young man walked towards the school building. He had been regretting this and had been putting it off for a whole term. It was now the spring, and he was a new arrival. The rest of his team had returned long before, and deep inside he looked forward to seeing them. He sighed. He wondered whether they would remember him. He blinked in shock. He had spotted one of them, and so quickly! A young man of slim build was prancing about up ahead, his long braid dancing about as he did.  
"Sometimes I really wish Duo wouldn't make such a jack-ass of himself," he muttered to himself lifelessly. He always wondered why Duo had that stupid braid. He promised himself that one day, he would cut it off while Duo slept. He stormed up the steps, straight past the group chortling at Duo being an idiot. Heero stopped momentarily to listen in on their conversation.  
"...And he was like 'I'm so great, me and my gun here, were just great, we go around shooting people, and then me and my crappy mobile suit go and shoot at things!'" Everyone laughed. Heero turned to face the group.  
"And he never smiled! It was sometimes like a small rodent was chewing on his balls!" A girl with dark hair collapsed in a fit of giggles.  
"He was such a prat, he was like..." Duo paused, feeling a cold gaze hit him. He turned his eyes in their sockets to face the new arrival. His blazer was slung over his shoulder, exposing his similarly slim figure. His sapphire blue eyes flashed and narrowed at him. They were partially hidden by a mop of untidy dark brown hair. He grunted in annoyance and walked away. Duo bit his lip.  
"Whoops!"   
  
Heero sat down in his seat. He was beginning to hate this school even more now. He was the only one in the classroom. Suddenly a young boy walked in to the classroom. He was the same age, but his child-like looks made him appear younger. There was a young woman, about two years younger than he was, busily blathering away at him. Heero smiled. Quatre sat down in his seat.   
"Quatre, why have you sat down, I haven't finished talking!" the girl wittered.  
"Well I'm tired of listening! I'm worn out and school hasn't even begun!" The girl growled and slumped into a seat behind Quatre. Heero sniggered coldly. Quatre frowned and looked at him. Heero turned round to face Quatre, watching Quatre's jaw drop.  
"Heero!" Quatre hissed. Heero 'hn'ed and turned away again.  
"Nice girlfriend, what's her name?" he smiled. Quatre sighed.  
"She's not my girlfriend! She's my sister!" Heero raised his eyebrows. He knew Quatre had a large family, but as far as he knew Quatre was the youngest, and also the only boy.  
"She looks a little young to be your sister. And why's she in this class anyway, she doesn't look 16." Quatre sighed.  
"Kitty is my only younger sister. My parents hid her away for most of he childhood, and so I decided to keep her secret too."  
"Why did they hide her away?"  
"That's not important, but she skipped two grades because of her intelligence." Kitty stuck her feet up on the desk.  
"Yep, I'm the smartest kid here!" Kitty grinned slyly. Quatre shot a look at her.  
"What have I told you about listening in on my conversations?" he hissed. Kitty giggled.  
"Well so-ry Mr over secretive! I mean, the conversation wasn't even important, all you were talking about was me!" Quatre sighed. Heero turned to face her.  
"What if we had been talking about something private?" he said flatly. Kitty sniggered.  
"Don't take that tone with me, I'm not five! And besides, you can't hide secrets. What do you mean, private, any way? You've only just walked into the classroom." Heero shut his eyes.  
"Lets just say me and your brother have a little history," Heero sighed. Kitty's eyes boggled and she collapsed in a fit of giggles.  
"I always suspected you Quatre! Oh mum is gonna throw a fit when she hears about this!" Quatre spun round to face his little sister.  
"What are you talking about?" he asked innocently. Kitty blinked silently and then burst out laughing.  
"You, him, history! Ha! You're such a poof!" Kitty sniggered. Heero looked taken aback. Quatre squeaked.  
"What on earth are you talking about? I'm not gay! What Heero means is we've known each other a while, that's all!" Quatre screamed. Kitty chuckled.  
"Quatty's in denial! Quatty's in denial!" Kitty chanted. Quatre growled.  
"Oh you are so frustrating!" he sighed, flinging his arms up. Kitty sighed, exhausted from her extensive laughing. Heero narrowed his eyes at her.  
"I don't little girls bother me, Quatre, I don't see why you should. And besides, if she's so obsessed that we are or were a couple maybe she's just jealous." Kitty slammed her feet off the table and on to the floor indignantly and her cheeks flushed a little red. She proceeded to turn her nose in the air and blatently ignore the pair.  
"Well done, she hasn't shut up all day!" Quatre smiled, "how do you do it?"  
"I have my ways," he sighed, turning back to face the front of the classroom as a large group of kids and a teacher walked in to the classroom. Everyone took their seats. 


	2. Chapter 2

A woman with dark hair walked to the front of the class.  
"Now, everyone, please be quiet," she said clearly. Everyone continued to talk except for 4 people. Heero sat in silence as he often did. Quatre and Kitty sat behind one another, backs straight, eyes wide open, hands clasped in front of them, completely attentive. Duo looked over at them and sniggered. Kitty snuck her hand under the desk and stuck her middle finger up at him. Duo made motions to symbolise a sarcastic scare. Heero raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement. The teacher put her hands on her hips and frowned. Another young man walked in to the classroom. He passed the teacher a note and she nodded. He sat down at the front of the class and smiled at Quatre.  
"WILL YOU BE QUIET!?" the teacher yelled. Everyone was silent.  
"Now, welcome back class," the teacher sighed, "I am Miss Lila Burton, your teacher, but you may call me Miss Lila. Now, we have a new addition to the class this term. If our Form head would like to bring him up and introduce him, I'd be very happy." The teacher nodded and sat down next to the new young man." Kitty stood up. As she made her way to the front of the class, she tapped Heero on the shoulder. Heero sighed and got up. Kitty stopped at the front of the class.  
"This is our new class mate. He has recently joined our school and I hope we will all welcome him to our class." Kitty looked at Heero and smiled. Heero smiled a little back. He handed Kitty a piece of paper he had been asked to give to the Form head when she asked for it.  
"Right then," Kitty cleared her throat and scanned the piece of paper with her midnight eyes, "this is Heero Yuy..."  
"Knew that already, Kit-babe!" Duo commented. The class fell into giggles apart from a few people.  
"...he is 16 years old and he comes from the L1 Colony cluster..."  
"Stop telling me stuff I already know!" Duo yelled. The teacher shook with anger in her seat. Kitty glared at Duo.  
"Ok, fine! Duo, if you think you can do this job any better, why don't you come up and do this?" She squealed.  
"Coz it's dorky!" he whined. The class laughed. Quatre glared at Duo. Kitty sighed. She pushed her glasses up her nose.  
"Heero likes...Clay pigeon shooting and electronics? OK? His favourite food is...beef burgers...and his favourite colour is blue." Duo shot his hand up.  
"Hey Heero! Mind telling us what shade, so I know what colour paper to get for your birthday gift!" The class laughed.  
"One, I don't know when my birthday is," Heero growled, making the class go silent at the pitch of his voice, " and two, it's midnight blue." He looked back at Kitty, who was blushing a little.  
"You can continue now, if you like?" he said plainly. Kitty smiled and nodded.  
"Err... Heero's favourite subjects are Phys Ed. and electronics. He also enjoys music."  
"That's a hoot!" Duo cackled from his seat. Quatre flicked his pen at Duo's head. Duo winced and glared at everyone behind him. Kitty sighed.  
"Well that's about it. I guess I can go disappear again..." Kitty shook Heero's hand symbolically and went and slumped into her seat. Heero went and sat down. He was seated next to Quatre and behind Duo. He grinned almost cheekily and began tapping Duo's chair with his foot. Duo began to squirm in annoyance as the teacher stood up.  
"Thank you Kitty. I apologise Heero for Duo's bad behaviour. He's a rather immature young man." Duo opened his mouth in mock horror.  
"Anyway, on other topics, this is our new prefect. His name is Trowa Barton. Kitty, do you want to come up to welcome him?" Kitty smiled sweetly and began to walk up. She purposely stabbed her heel into Duo's trailing braid and swiftly walked on. Duo squealed and the heel ripped through his hair, splitting the hair shafts and ripping his elastic band. He clutched his braid and petted it, whilst rummaging for another elastic and glaring at Kitty. Kitty smiled cheekily at duo, and then shook Trowa's hand.  
"Welcome," she said kindly. Trowa smiled.  
"Thank you," he said. Kitty walked back to her seat. Duo slapped her butt on her way back, making her squeal and trip. She plunged into her seat in a fit of embarrassment as titters arose around her.  
"Duo!" the teacher scolded. Duo winked at her and she growled in frustration. Quatre turned around to check that his baby sis was OK.  
"Now class, we have some form time, so if you want to chat quietly amongst yourselves whilst I go do some photocopying..." Miss Lila sped out of the room. Quatre raced out of his seat to go and speak to Trowa. Heero just watched the commotion around him. He heard a familiar voice and turned to see who it was. A young Chinese man was talking to Kitty.  
"Are you alright?" Wu-fei asked. Kitty smiled.  
"I guess, Duo's just a prat so you have to expect these things." Wu-fei smiled.  
"I guess so. Well, if he's mean again, tell me, and I'll smack him with my katana!" Kitty giggled.  
"Thank you Wu-fei, but I think I can handle one big kid by myself!" Wu-fei smiled Kitty turned back around to face the front. She smiled at Heero who was still looking at her. He raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement and turned back to face the front.  
  
Duo glared at Heero during the recess between periods. A girl (known as Cindy) walked over to him.  
"Heya babe!" she cooed, planting a kiss on his cheek. Duo smiled.  
"Hiya," he sighed, and then continued his glaring. Cindy smiled.  
"What's wrong, you jealous of him?" Duo frowned.  
"What's there to be jealous of?" he growled.  
"Well, he is a hunk, if that's what you mean?" Cindy giggled, clutching Duo's arm a little harder. Duo glared at her.  
"I thought I was your man!" he protested. Cindy laughed.  
"Oh don't worry, Duo-baby, you're still the hunk of the school!"   
"Oh that's a laugh! He's got hair down to his butt and he looks like a girl!" a voice laughed from behind the pair. Duo tensed up to see Kitty walk past smirking.  
"Oh shut up Kitty! Just coz no-one likes you!" Duo growled. Kitty snorted.  
"Like that would bother me?" she sighed, walking off towards the Technology block. Duo growled.  
"I don't know why, but I just can't seem to get under that girl's skin!" he whined. Heero watched Kitty leave. Intrigued, he decided to follow her.  
  
Kitty sat down at her desk in the classroom. She pulled across her latest work and began fiddling with it. Heero sat down at the spare desk nest to her. Kitty looked up and smiled. She wiped away a tear that threatened to violate her cheeks.  
"Hello, I didn't expect anyone to be here so early," she said quietly. Heero 'hn'ed. Kitty thought for a moment and looked at him.  
"You don't seem to be much of a talker, Mr Yuy, but would you mind listening?" Heero looked up. He had never been requested to listen to someone before. Usually people were asking him to talk, however inappropriate it seemed to him. All Kitty wanted was him to listen, whether he made any remark or not.  
"Why do you want me to listen?" he asked plainly in monotone. Kitty smiled, brushing away another tear.  
"Well, sometimes it's nice to get things off your chest. So you tell people what your feeling, and whether they can help you or not, it helps you to feel better." Heero nodded.  
"Do you feel bad then?" he asked. Kitty smiled weakly.  
"Very. I feel worse whenever I walk into our homeroom than I have ever felt, except maybe when I lost my darling father, I suppose." It hadn't occurred to Heero that everything that Quatre had suffered, Kitty had suffered too. Quatre, though one of the sweetest people he knew was trained to deal with pain, Kitty was not. She was a civilian. She must have suffered ten times worse when Mr Winner was killed. But then again, she must have suffered to every time Quatre was off fighting. Every time he wasn't there, he may have been being tortured, or injured or even killed, and she wouldn't have know. For a moment, Heero was glad he had no family.  
"Tell me about it," Heero asked quietly. Kitty sighed.  
"I know I'm not exactly the prettiest, or most charismatic girl in history, but at least I try! Most people here are just naturally popular, although they have less brains that watered down cabbage!" Heero smiled a little.  
"All my time at this school, I've been picked on for being the brains, the nerd, the geek. It isn't fair! I don't just enjoy academics, you know? I have a life at home too! I enjoy clothes shopping, like other people, although most of the girls don't have a private designer and tailor at their fingertips but never mind. I like animals, and music, and dancing and talking! I'm completely normal, really, but whatever I do, I can't be accepted because one person doesn't want me to be, an I don't know why..." Kitty trailed off as her tears got slightly too much for her to contain. Heero frowned.  
"You mean Duo, don't you?"  
"Yes..."  
"Maybe he considers you a threat. He's usually genial and well mannered to most people." Kitty sighed, wiping her face of a small white handkerchief she had pulled from her pocket.  
"I know, I know. Quatre says he's really a lovely person. He was always there for his friends during the war..."  
"Quatre told you about that!" Heero exclaimed, a little worried.  
"No, Quatre told me nothing verbally, but the mind speaks when the voice does not." Heero frowned.  
"Then you know who I am?" Kitty smiled a little.  
"Yes, you are the pilot of the 01. Oh how I have admired your bravery! I only wish I could have been up their with you five." Heero shook his head.  
"It isn't all glamour. A lot of people died in that war." Kitty laughed.  
"I know that, silly! But I would have loved to have been there, just to know what was going on." Kitty sighed as the bell for the end of the Recess rang.  
"Thank you for listening to me, Heero. I feel so much better now somebody else knows." Kitty quickly wiped her face again, making it look fresh and clean.   
Wu-fei walked in and sat down on the other side of Kitty. He smiled at her. Another girl walked past and uttered 'Hi Wu-fei'. Wu-fei frowned.  
"Baka Onna!" he growled. Kitty looked at Heero. They both rolled their eyes. Kitty laughed. The rest of the class waltzed in and took their seats, followed closely by Trowa and the teacher, Master Weiss.  



	3. Chapter 3

Kitty walked gently down the steps out of the school building. The sun set rays of almost sunset like sheen across the yard and forecourt. Kitty sighed. It was truly beautiful. It would have of course, been ten times more beautiful if she had someone to share it with. She noticed Heero standing alone at the end of the steps, leaning on a stair-end. She smiled and walked over.  
"Hello!" she piped up. Heero remained motionless.  
"So, err, isn't it a beautiful day?" Kitty asked. Heero frowned and made a noise of acknowledgement. Kitty cleared her throat.  
"So, are you heading straight home, or are you hanging about for a bit?" Heero looked up.  
"Hanging about for a bit. I don't have any homework to do. I got so bored during the lunch recess I did it all then. Then I proceeded to snap the leads off all the colouring pencils..." Kitty giggled.  
"If you were bored, you should have come and found me. I'm always happy to give people a reason not to be bored. I've heard the saying that only boring people get bored, but I don't think that's true. I mean, what kind of boring person does something so spontaneous as to snap all the leads off the colouring pencils? Haha, err... why did you do that?" Heero sighed.  
"I don't know," he replied plainly. Kitty made an 'oh' motion with her mouth. She twiddled her thumbs.  
"So..." Kitty sighed, trying to think of something else to say. Heero smiled.  
"I have only two things left to say to you today." Kitty raised an eyebrow.  
"OK... that's a really original piece of conversation...actually it is? Cool!" Heero raised an eyebrow at her over enthusiasm, "err...well, hit me with it then." Heero looked back at the sky.  
"One is that you talk to much," Kitty glared indignantly at him, "and two, I think you are over looking how lucky you are." Kitty looked at him.  
"What do you mean, lucky?"  
"Well, earlier you said that you were alone. Personally I think you'd find that Wu-fei and Quatre would both be very offended to hear you say that." Kitty looked at him. Then she sighed.  
"I guess... but I dunno. They both have their own friends too, while I haven't. Oh I don't know! Oh thanks a lot Heero, you've made me have to think!" Heero smiled.  
"See, things are always better than they seem," he smiled, turning away, "I, on the other hand, am alone. That is how it should be." Heero began to walk away down the final flight of shallow steps.  
"Heero!" Kitty called out. Heero turned around.  
"You're not alone, you've got me, remember?" Heero blinked slightly in shock. He'd only seen confidence such as this around such a pessimistic twerp such as himself in Relena. In a lot of ways they were so very alike. It scared him. He relaxed his face and nodded with a smile. He walked away casually, although he could feel Kitty's fantastic midnight blue eyes boring into the back of his head. Kitty sighed.  
"That boy," she growled jokily to herself. She laughed a little and then headed off toward the bike sheds.  
  
Heero continued the long walk back to his accommodation. The school was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, in the centre of a forest filled countryside. It was very picturesque, but a long walk away from the nearest town, where Heero was staying. He was thinking over Kitty's last words to him; you're not alone, you've got me, remember? It was haunting how her voice in her mind changed its tone and rhythm to someone else's. He shook his head, trying to remove the echoes in his mind. The voice went, but a drumming like metal hitting the ground still knocked about his skull. It grew louder and louder until he could almost take no more. Then it stopped.  
"Hello Heero!" a voice piped up. Heero turned to see Kitty smiling at him from atop a huge white horse. The horse's saddle was attached to a pony trap where Quatre lay, sprawled slightly and asleep. Heero smiled. He shook his head quickly. He decided he was smiling too much, and that he would stop doing it from that moment on. It wasn't as easy as it seemed.  
"I didn't expect to see you this late in the evening," Kitty smiled, "Me and Pegasus decided to wait for Quatre to finish his music lesson before we left. It's so dreadfully hard to get a taxi out here."  
"No kidding," Heero uttered. He began walking again. Kitty moved the horse on until it was walking along beside Heero with the trap still in tow.  
"Heero, you look as though you could use a lift. Would you care to join us?" Kitty gestured a white leather glove clad hand towards the cart. Heero frowned.  
"No thanks, I'll be fine." Kitty laughed.  
"Heero its another 12 miles back to Littleton! You won't make it before nightfall! And I will not leave a fellow classmate and friend out in the dark willingly. It's part of my policy as form head and head of the citizenship committee!" Heero growled.  
"Listen, Kitty, I am not you're friend. Right now, I don't want any friends, and I don't think a nice little girl like you deserves all the trouble I'd cause you." Kitty shrugged.  
"Fine then, acquaintance and classmate. If you want to be uppity Mr Yuy that doesn't bother me in the slightest." Heero growled.  
"Now, come along, in the cart!" she cooed patronisingly. Heero continued to walk. Kitty growled and urged the horse on a little. The trap knocked into the back of Heero's legs, making him stumble to a halt. He glared up at Kitty. She sighed.  
"Now get in," she demanded. Heero muttered something under his breath and climbed in, moving Quatre over a little.  
"No, don't, that hurts, make him stop mummy!" Quatre uttered in his sleep. Heero raised his eyebrows. Kitty giggled.  
"Now, Heero, I leave this choice up to you, the fast road or the slow road home?" Heero frowned.  
"Before I choose, you have to promise me one thing or I'll jump out." Kitty turned her head and smiled.  
"What's that?"  
"Don't talk to me. You talk to much." Kitty laughed.  
"Fast road it is!" She giggled and the horse shot off down the left road in the fork as fast as it could peg it with a cart and three people to carry.  
  
Kitty walked into the house. She had finished putting Pegasus (her beloved white horse) away and now she was going to get ready for dinner. She could smell the rich aroma of Biftek a la vin cooking in the kitchen. She sighed. It was nice to be home again, or at least in one of the many homes she had lived in. This was one of her favourites, the Sunset house in Littleton. It was in her favourite style, white marble. She padded silently up the sweeping marble staircase and into her room. The room was richly decorated with deep red furnishings and wall drapes and dimmed lamps. A large vanity mirror sat above a mahogany table in the corner. Kitty quickly pulled off her school uniform and flung it into the dainty laundry basket in the corner. It didn't really match the room at all, but it had a picture of a unicorn on it, so she liked it. She sat in front of the mirror and sighed. She gently untied the ribbons at the ends of her twin braids. The hung down beside her ears if not pinned back, just behind her full fringe, which unintentionally was quite untidy. She wound the lengths of hair away from one another and picked up her hairbrush. Slowly and carefully she drew her the combed teeth through her long golden hair, until suddenly a thought came to her head. She blinked silently for a moment, and then shut her eyes.  
"Show me," she said. An image flooded her mind. In a sunset lit apartment, a young man quickly folded his clothes and walked over to a small walk in wardrobe in the alcove in the corner. The walls were a dirty white in tone, and the apartment itself was studio. It was also incredibly small, about 15ft by 18ft. A single bed was sat in the middle, and towards the other end was a cornered off shower and toilet, complete with door and a tiny kitchen set up, with a sink/wash-basin, two small over head cupboards, a refrigeration unit and small oven under a tiled counter-top and a microwave, iron and radio propped up on the counter. There was a chair towards the end of the counter, where one could sit and eat, for example. Kitty looked back at the young man. He opened the wardrobe door and placed the folded trousers and shirt on top of a small cabinet containing shoes. He hung a blazer up beside a green work shirt, a few spare shirts in varying pastel colours and a suit jacket, which was mid-dark blue. Also hung up, though in another division, was a spare pair of black trousers, a pair of what looked like lycra pedal pushers, a matching pair of trousers to the suit jacket, 2 pairs of faded blue jeans and three ties. The first 2 ties were dark blue, and the final was in the school colours, green and gold. It had the emblem of a unicorn's silhouette in front of the moon and the words "Pushing mental ability to the stars". This same emblem was on the blazer pocket, along with a sewn on badge bearing the student name and form, in the case "Heero Yuy, 10A". Heero sighed and shut the wardrobe doors. He lay back on his bed, covering his eyes with his hands. Kitty bit her lip. She decided finally to speak.  
"What is wrong?" she asked gently. Heero made no shocked motion.  
"This is wrong," he simply replied. Kitty sighed. Heero spoke again.  
"Things are quiet. That is a good thing. But it has become to quiet. People are turning from simply silent and confident to sly and sneaky. People are keeping secrets. A secret is a dangerous thing." Kitty nodded.  
"Then why are you not solving this problem?" Heero sighed.  
"Currently there is no problem, so I can't do anything about it. Only when the problem arises..."  
"You can nip it in the butt and shut it down," Kitty finished.  
"Exactly," Heero replied. He got up off the bed and walked to the window. He peered into the sunset intently.  
"I came here to achieve something. I wanted to find something." Kitty listened more intently.  
"What are you trying to find?" she asked. Heero pulled a picture out of his pocket and sighed. It was a picture of a small boy walking alone down a street, not looking at the camera.  
"Myself," he replied, "I want to know who I am. I have never needed this information before but for some reason, now, when there is no purpose for the person I have become, I seek to find out who I really am and who I was before I was corrupted and changed by those doctors..." Heero stopped speaking. Kitty blinked sadly.  
"I understand. I seek the same thing, Heero," Kitty sighed. Heero lay back down on the bed.  
"Then we both seek to achieve the same goal," he sighed.  
"Yes, the knowledge of our past," Kitty sighed. Heero lay back on his pillow and within seconds he was asleep. Kitty sighed and lay back in her chair. She opened her eyes. The telltale turquoise glow faded. Quatre tutted.  
"Who's mind were you prying into this time?" he sighed, leaning against the doorframe. Kitty screamed.  
"Quatre! You can't barge in to my room like that! I'm in my underwear. Quatre looked away for her face for a second, and defying his physical image, he grinned a devilish grin.  
"Oh really, I didn't notice? Smile for the camera!" Quatre whipped out his pocket Polaroid and snapped the shutter. Kitty screamed again.  
"Quatre, you pig! Get out, get out, get OUT!" She flung her hairbrush out the door, as Quatre dashed away her slammed the door, causing wood to strike wood and a loud clatter to be heard. Kitty screamed in annoyance and stamped her feet angrily. She pouted and stomped over to her wardrobe. She put on a lilac shift dress and stormed out of her bedroom and downstairs. Quatre giggled mischievously from his bedroom. Although he was sixteen, his looks defied his age, and he played himself to that. He giggled at the freshly printed Polaroid picture and at the lilac book embossed in gold with "Kitty's Diary! KEEP OUT!" he now held in his hand.  



	4. Chapter 4

Several weeks had passed. Kitty's picture had been pinched from Quatre (who was keeping it for sibling taunting) by Duo, and he had posted it in the school newspaper. For this, Kitty had basically turned on him with a glare, and Duo was now feeling rather upset and guilty. Heero had finally settled in. OK, so he was still the most anti-social person in on the planet/colony, but at least he had friends. He had settled into a small little friendship group that basically hung around Kitty. There was Kitty, of course, the young, pretty and hellishly intelligent girl who had been friendly to Heero form the start. Also, there was Quatre, Kitty's elder and only brother. He was kind and sweet, as most of you know, and the pair were hellishly rich, which meant they could always fund a little bit of fun. There was Also Wu-fei. He chose not to have any friends, but he very much admired Kitty. He was considered to be her friend, and really, he was Quatre and Heero's friend to. He had a very lousy attitude towards women, except of course Kitty and he was very much into his martial arts. This chapter begins during a Phys. Ed class.  
  
Duo stalked into the gym. The boys wore their white aertex shirts and shorts, and the girls in very much the same. Kitty was standing on her hands on one of the boxes around the large gym, in conversation with Heero. Duo walked cautiously over. He listened for a moment.  
"I didn't know what you'd think about it. I mean, everyone else is going, and since I've tried to fit in, it would be a shame to spoil it." Kitty laughed.  
"Heero, if I fit in, you would have had no trouble even if you hadn't of tried. But of course I'd go with you. That is, of course, if Pegasus doesn't want to go!" Heero raised his eyebrows.  
"Pegasus? I think you'd have trouble finding him a tuxedo." Kitty collapsed from her pose in giggles, luckily being caught by Heero before she hit the ground.  
"Pegasus is a girl silly!" Kitty sighed, looking up at Heero with a smile. Heero smiled back. Duo cleared his throat. Heero shot him a death glare. Duo raised his hands.  
"Easy tiger, all I came to do was apologise." Kitty got up and turned her back on Duo.  
"Tell HIM that I don't want his empty words, or an apology from him of any kind." Heero nodded.  
"You heard her. I don't need to repeat it." Duo sighed.  
"Look I'm sorry, OK, I don't know what else to say." Kitty walked away towards the mats where Wu-fei was practising him stances. Heero stopped Duo from following.  
"What you did was more cruel and unfair than any of the judgements you passed on enemies during our time as comrades. This time I tell you as a classmate, not a comrade, maybe it's time you lightened up a little, god of death, and kept your mouth shut once in a while." Heero pushed Duo away gently, as so not to cause a stir, but to emphasise his point. Duo stood for a moment in silence, and then walked back over to where his friends were standing. Miss Zwei entered the room.  
"Hello class, please sit down." All the class came and sat before her. "Now today we are starting a new topic, as you've done you're gym presentations," Quatre looked at the tightly bound wrist support he was wearing as consequence, "which were all very good. You all received an A," the class cheered, "except you Duo, who received a D." Duo's jaw dropped.  
"What do you mean, a D?" he cried out. Wu-fei sneered.  
"Tough luck Maxwell," he hissed. Duo shook with rage.  
"Duo, you haven't got the grace you need to be able to do gymnastics well. You need to complete you gestures and have a proper starts and finish. You need to emphasise you movements. If you had done these things, you may have got a B at least." Duo frowned. It was his first failing grade.  
"Duo, you're choreography was excellent, don't be disheartened. I tell you what, speak to me after class and we'll sort something out, OK?" Duo nodded. Wu-fei snorted coldly at him.  
  
Heero and Quatre were paired up fro the new topic, which was the ancient Korean Martial art, Tae Kwon Do (Tammy, I owe it to u, babe). They were starting off with a kick pattern- Axe Kick, Side Kick, Twist Kick, Axe Kick, Bow. Quatre was holding the pad whilst Heero attacked it. Quatre sighed as he got knocked back again by the force of Heero's blow. He looked over at Kitty and Wu-fei. Strangely enough, Wu-fei was smiling as he held the pad for Kitty to kick. No, in fact he was laughing! Not at her, but with her. He was helping her with her technique. Quatre sighed with relief as Heero bowed. They began to walk back across the mat where they had started.  
"Hey Heero, look at that," Quatre said quietly. Heero looked over. Kitty and tripped over and Wu-fei was now helping her up.  
"At what, the fact that Kitty can't hold her weight. We're forever picking her up!" Quatre laughed.  
"Not at that! Look at that!" Heero looked again and sighed. Quatre shook his head.  
"I swear there's something going on between those two." Quatre sighed. Heero nodded.  
"Who would have guessed? Wu-fei and a woman!" Quatre giggled, passing the pads to Heero.  
"Are you suggesting that our dear friend Wu-fei is slightly less than straight?" Heero smiled cheekily and Quatre's question.  
"Well, you have to take into account that he's always whining on about how women are weak and useless and how he despises them." Quatre smiled.  
"Well, somehow Kitty must be special then."  
"I don't see how she's any different," Heero sighed. He raised his eyebrows at the pitiful kick Quatre had just launched. It had barely hit the pad for starters, and it was probably the weakest assault Heero had seen from anyone trying defend themselves, let alone Quatre. Quatre was now frowning with concentration, biting his tongue. Heero rolled his eyes.  
"Do you want some help?" he asked. Quatre shut one eye and squinted.  
"No thanks, I've got all the focus I need." Quatre proceeded to fling a pathetic sidekick at the pads, this time landing the kick, but making no real impact. Heero groaned.  
  
Duo slowly walked over to Miss Zwei. She was handing back jewellery to the rest of the pupils. Duo had never taken off his crucifix, and even if he did, he wouldn't let anyone look after it for him, let alone touch it, so he had nothing to collect. Heero took back his watch and sloped off. Duo walked over as   
Leigh-Anne received her pendant. Miss Zwei turned towards him.  
"Duo, about your exam..."  
"I know...I failed."  
"No Duo, I came to ask you if you'd like another shot at it." Duo's eyes lit up.  
"Really? WHAHOO! Thank you thank you thank you!" Miss Zwei frowned.  
"You are going to have to work hard for this, you know." Duo nodded.  
"Duo, I think you would benefit from a tutor," Miss Zwei confirmed. Duo looked shocked.  
"What! I'm doing great in all my other subjects, I'm only failing Gym!" Miss Zwei laughed.  
"I know you are Duo, what I mean is a tutor for gym. You are doing fabulously well in your other subjects, I've seen your grades."  
"You have?"  
"Yes Duo, I have. Anyway, as you seem to be doing so well, you ought to have no problem learning from another student. And it will only take up a few days of your time."  
"You mean my exam is like in, three days?"  
"Four actually. Duo I have a very full curriculum this term, and the only free space I have is this Friday, or in three months time."  
"Three months time, three months time!" Duo chanted. Miss Zwei raised her eyebrow.  
"One, Duo, you don't need very long to touch up you performance, and three months would be a useless amount of time. And for seconds, three months time is the last Friday of the term. You'll be packing up to go home for Easter when my free time slot is, and intend on using it to beat the rush hour and go home." Duo sighed.  
"I guess that's fair. Ok then, so who have I got?"  
"I'll go and get her!" Miss Zwei cooed, running off into the girls changing room. Duo waited patiently until Miss Zwei emerged. Duo frowned. Miss Zwei was dragging a very disgruntled looking Kitty out of the changing room. When she saw Duo she began to squirm  
"Oh no way am I helping him! Lemmego! LET ME GO!" she screamed, writhing in Miss Zwei's grasp, but to no avail. Miss Zwei placed Kitty in front of Duo, who was busy twiddling his thumbs.  
"From what I've over heard in the staff room, there is a little scuffle going on between you two, so maybe this will help you both overcome your differences, and Duo to get his passing grade." Miss Zwei walked into her office, which was just next door to where they were standing. Kitty stamped her foot immaturely.  
"I won't do it! You can't make me!" Duo pleaded with his eyes.  
"Please, Kitty, please! My foster family are going to hand me back if I don't get all passing grades!" Kitty raised her eyebrows.  
"I doubt they'd do that." Duo sighed.  
"Ok, I exaggerate, they'd lock me in my room without any food, and you know..."  
"I sincerely doubt they'd do that too." Duo groaned.  
"OK, OK, they'd lock me in my room at night, and they wouldn't feed me then!" Kitty tapped her foot.  
"Fine! They'd send me to my room and they wouldn't let me have my usual ice cream 8 o'clock supper, OK? Do you have any idea how much I love ice cream?"  
"Yes."  
"Do you have any-idea how ratty I get when denied my ice cream?"   
"Not really, I've never seen you denied of ice cream. When I usually see you, you're ramming the stuff down your throat!" Duo growled.  
"Anyway, I get ratty, really ratty. I can throw things at people when I get ratty. I'm a security risk to this colony when I get ratty!"  
"You threw a pencil at me this morning. And a paper aeroplane at Miss Lila, and your textbook at Quatre, and you also threw your shoe at Wu-fei. Didn't you get your ice cream last night?" Duo groaned.  
"Fine. You little cynical... oh never mind! What were we talking about before ice cream? Hmmm... Oh I remember! Kitty PLEASE tutor me! I really need you help." Kitty folded her arms. Duo got down on his knees and begged, much to Miss Zwei's amusement, who had just peeped round the door to see how the negotiations were going.  
"Kitty please!"  
"No."  
"Pretty please?"  
"No."  
"Pretty please with a cherry on top? And a large dollop of Cookie-dough and fudge ice cream...yum..."  
"No."  
"Look, Kitty, I'll make it up to you. I'll borrow Quatre's Polaroid, and you can post the picture and everything, I promise."  
"Your promises are empty lies. And why should I forgive you? All you've done since you got here was be mean to me. You don't even know me, how can you judge me without knowing me?" Duo sighed.  
"I know, I've been a real jerk to you, haven't I?" Kitty nodded.  
"Just because your confessing doesn't mean I can forgive you." Duo blinked his big violet-blue eyes at Kitty, clutching his precious crucifix with one hand.  
"The lord says that forgiveness is an act of compassion, and you, bar Quatre, are the most compassionate person I know." Kitty groaned.  
"Well that was lame. And besides, you're just saying that to win me over!" Duo whined.  
"Look, there is a big meeting at Church this Sunday, and me and my foster family are going to confession. I plan on confessing how very cold and cruel I have been, and I plan on asking for forgiveness. If you cannot forgive me, the lord cannot forgive me, and I doubt he can forgive you either."  
"I'm not catholic."  
"That's not the point! Look Kitty, I'm down on my knees for cripes sake, begging for your forgiveness." Kitty winced. Duo was being so nice to her, and it felt bad to throw him a cold shoulder.  
"And your point is?" she choked.  
"And besides all that, you know I don't know any better." Kitty raised her eyebrows.  
"Why's that?"  
"Because I'm adorable, silly!" Duo cooed, winking and poking his tongue out. Kitty burst into a fit of giggles. She smiled.  
"Alright, alright, you've argued your case well. If you promise to make amends for your crimes in the ways you have suggested, I will forgive you."  
"And tutor me?" Duo hinted.  
"And tutor you. Now get up off the floor Duo, you are making a scene!" Duo leapt up and screeched happily. Kitty smiled. Duo planted a light kiss on Kitty's cheek and skipped away to the boys' changing room yelling "THANK YOU!" Kitty flushed pink and put a hand on her cheek where the kiss still lingered. Quatre and Wu-fei walked out of the changing room and over to meet her.  
"What was all that about?" Wu-fei asked. Kitty smiled.  
"Oh, not a lot really. By the way, Quatre, can Duo borrow your Polaroid?"  
  
Heero unlocked his apartment door and walked inside. He placed his warm, freshly dry-cleaned clothes on the bed and walked over to the wardrobe. The radio hummed away in the background. He pulled off his boots and flung them away. He lay back on his bed with a sigh. It had been an eventful day, and all he wanted to do was sleep. He lay dozed for a while, thinking about ho happy he was being normal. It was quite strange for him, fitting in. Being part of an accepted crowd. It was also quite frightening. Suddenly the radio caught his attention. He lapt of to it and slammed the volume switch with his fist.  
"THIS IS A NEWSFLASH, I REPEAT, THIS IS A NEWS FLASH! THE EA HAS DECLARED WAR ON THE L7 COLNY SINGULAR GOVERNMENT. THE EA HAS ALREADY DESTROYED A PORTION OF THE CLUSTER. FORTUNATLY, REPORTS SHOW THAT THIS AREA HAD BEEN EVACUATED,A ND VERY FEW PEOPLE WERE HURT. THERE HAVE BEEN 15 CASUALTIES, AND A SIMILAR NUMBER OF INJURIES REPORTED SO FAR TO OUR SIDE. THE LOSSES TO EARTH ARE UNKNOWN, BUT SHOTS HAVE BEEN FIRED BY THE COLONY. THE GOVERNMENT HAS SET UP AN EVACUATION SYSTEM, BUT IT COULD BE JEOPARDISED BY THE WAVE OF NEW MOBILE SUITS AND DOLLS BEING BUILT BY THE EA. THE EA HAS SEPARATED NOW FROM CANQ RULE, BUT CANQ LEADER RELENA PEACECRAFT HAS STATED THAT THE CANQ KINGDOM WILL PLAY NO PART IN THIS WAR AND WILL NOT ARM ITSELF. THE COLONY ALLIED GOVERNMENT URGES THE FORMER GUNDAM PILOTS TO COME FORTH AND ASSIST. THEY ARE DUO MAXWELL, WU-FEI CHANG, QUATRE RARBERBA WINNER, TROWA BARTON AND HEERO YUY. PEOPLE ARE ADVISED IF THEY KNOW THESE PEOPLE TO PASS ON THE MESSAGE. IF ANY OF THESE SUCH PILOTS ARE LISTENING, THE CA GOVERNMENT ASKS TO PLEASE AT LEAST CONSIDER HELPING THE COLONY IN THEIR TIME OF NEED." Heero's jaw dropped. Just when he was settling down, becoming a person, not a weapon, people were asking him back. Heero ran over to the phone on the wall and tapped in the number, which was written on the back of his hand. It rang twice, and then the face of a woman in her late twenties appeared. She was smiling and wearing a maid's outfit.  
"Hello young man, can I help you?" she asked. Heero swallowed dryly.  
"Yes, can I speak to Quatre please?"  



	5. Chapter 5

Duo ran up to Kitty in the courtyard. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. Kitty cocked her head at him. He was obviously out of breath, but still, he was hopping energetically from foot to foot like a hyperactive pogo stick.  
"Duo?" Kitty asked frankly. Duo grinned.  
"I got the picture!" He cooed and thrust the small photograph and camera into her hands. Kitty resisted the temptation to turn the photo over and look at it.  
"Duo, do you need to go to the little boys room or something?" Kitty asked. Duo frowned, stopped hopping and shook his head.  
"Err, no... why do you ask?" Duo began violently shaking his hands. Kitty raised an eyebrow and gestured towards his fidgeting. Duo laughed and began hopping from foot to foot whilst shaking his hands.  
"Nah, I just ate a litre of cookie-dough fudge B&J and I've got a sugar rush, that's all! Later!" Kitty sniggered as Duo cavorted off round the campus of Equus High School. Kitty slowly turned over the photograph. She blushed. Duo was winking and poking his tongue out, standing only in his black boxers. Reluctantly, Kitty tore the photo in two, and then shredded it completely. She popped it in the litterbin and sighed. She looked around, cleared her throat, straitened her pleated grey skirt and golden 'PREFECT' tie and walked calmly and coolly into the school building and up to the library.  
  
Heero dashed into the classroom, disturbing several conversations. He looked around and sighed. The only people in the classroom were Wu-fei and Kitty and a few girls at the back of the classroom ogling at him. Heero sat down in his seat and listened in on Wu-fei and Kitty's conversation for a while. Heero could have sworn that there was a little colour in Wu-fei's pale cheeks.  
"...So I was wondering, if you're not busy, maybe you'd go with me?"  
"Oh! Err, wow, I don't know what to say! What day is it, what time?"  
"As it says on the big pink posters all over school, Kit, 7pm on Friday night."  
"Oh, OK. Silly me! Err... Well, no one else has invited me, and I haven't got any contradicting arrangements. What's the theme?"  
"I'm pretty sure it's 'Opposites Attract', so we have to dress up as opposites, I think." Kitty nodded.  
"Ok then. Well, I can get Una and my tailor to make us costumes... you'll have to come over for measurements, of course, but I'm sure they can be ready by Friday. There isn't a problem with you coming over at all this week, is there?"  
"No problem, what night?"  
"Well, Thursday, I guess. That's the only night Quatre and me aren't late home. If you come straight home with us, we can get to work straight away."  
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Kitty smiled sweetly and Wu-fei. Heero rolled his eyes. Wu-fei shot a glare at him.  
"What's the matter, Yuy? Got a bug in your eye or something?"  
"My eyes are just fine, but thanks for your concern. It's your sudden burst of affection that's making me sick."   
"What, ya jealous?" Wu-fei smirked. Heero stood up and glared at him. Wu-fei returned the favour.  
"Now now gentlemen!" Kitty exclaimed, standing up between them. Wu-fei and Heero looked ready to pounce on one another. As the class began to enter, Heero growled and took his seat. Wu-fei slumped into his chair. The rest of the class filed in, followed by Miss Lila. Duo turned around and grinned at Heero devilishly.  
"Aww, pwoor Heewo getting wimself in a wittle tizzy?" he laughed. Heero thumped him over the head. Duo winced and turned away to face the front in a strop. Everyone sat strangely silent as Miss Lila organised her desk. Heero hissed at Kitty, grabbing her attention. She looked over at him and smiled.  
"Kit, we still on for Saturday?" Heero asked. Out of the corner of his eye, and much to his pleasure he saw the look on Wu-fei's face, and then the glare.  
"Of course we are! As planned, we are still going to the conference, unless you have any changes to the plan?" Wu-fei fell out of his chair, sending a wave of sniggers round the class. He muttered something, of which the only decipherable word was 'Justice' as he got back up. Heero couldn't help but smile.  
"You've never been to the conference before, have you Heero?" Kitty asked. Heero shook his head.  
"I take it you have?"  
"Oh yes, me and Quatre used to go very often when we were younger. Father would take us along, but he wouldn't spend long with us. I remember we always stayed in the entrance hall, but it was still an unforgettable night for all. Everyone in the most outstanding eveningwear, all the ministers' speeches, everything was like magic sometimes. Of course, I was much younger then, but still..."  
"Good morning class!" Miss Lila called out, halting Kitty mid sentence. Kitty sat back up and joined in with the mutual call of "Good morning Miss Lila!" in the tone of infant school children.  
"Today would be report card day, but..." Miss Lila paused as she read the notice in the register. Everyone (except the two dumb mutes (it's not that hard to work out who I'm talking about)) leant forward in his or her seat.  
"... there has been a delay in the printing office, and they won't be ready 'til next Monday. Sorry kids!" The class slumped back into their seats and groaned (apart from those previously named).   
"Oh why do you torture me so?" Duo wailed. Quatre sighed.  
"I dunno, maybe they don't like you. Hold on, where's Trowa?  
"Are you two joined at the hip or something?" Duo groaned. Quatre shook his head.  
"No, it's just he happens to be my best friend, and I'd like to know why he's not here." Duo pouted.  
"I thought I was your best friend!" Duo whined.  
"Baka," Wu-fei uttered, shaking his head. Quatre sweat dropped.  
"You two are both so totally pathetic sometimes..." Quatre trailed off despairingly. Heero looked around and groaned. Trowa really wasn't here, and it was obvious the others didn't already know. He wasn't going to tell them if the group wasn't whole. Trowa had to know as well. Heero got up from his chair as the first period began and walked off towards the technology block.  
  
Lunchtime rolled around as it often did and Heero hadn't even seen one of the group since Homeroom. He sighed. He walked towards the Form room and peeped around the door. He sighed and let himself relax. Trowa was sitting in his chair, feet up on the teacher's desk, reading a news-paper. He peered over the top. Heero sighed again. He turned up after all, he thought, feeling relived. Heero focused newspaper. It was the school magazine. A copy had been popped in everyone's desk at break, but he hadn't been to look at his, fearing another dodgy picture might dub the front page. Heero squinted at the headline from the doorpost; "EA DECLARES WAR ON UCCA!" Heero closed his eyes. Trowa knew. He glanced around the room and took a step inside. The palpable atmosphere hit him like a brick wall. Wufei was chipping at his desk, carving what looked strangely like a gundam into his desktop with his sharpening blade. Duo was fiddling with the end of his braid with his feet up on his desk, making a quiet scrunching noise to accompany the sort thuds of the blade. Trowa turned a page of the magazine. Heero's gaze caught on to Quatre's tense figure. He had his fingernails dug into the desk and he was staring straight ahead. He began to shake, not very noticeable, but easily visible to the trained eye. Quatre's sharp breathing joined the tense orchestra of short noises that broke the silence. Heero sat down. He picked his fingernails for a short while, until Trowa broke the silence.  
"We all know Heero, before you go breaking the news," he said, his calm cool voice making everyone in the room shudder slightly. Heero looked up. Quatre wa snow quivering.  
"I guessed," Heero replied, making a gesture with his head at the tense form just behind him. Duo bowed his head.  
"So are we going?" Quatre made a small squeaking noise, physically driving his fingernails into the desk.  
"I thought we decided we'd leave the decision up to Quatre," Trowa sighed. Heero raised his eyebrows.  
"I'm fine with going. Fighting is what I'm made to do, and if I'm requested to fight for a fair said, then I'll go. Quatre is in no posistion to make these decisions for us."  
"Quatre's the smartest and most rational. It makes sense for him to decide," Duo sighed.  
"Currently he's a shivered wreck. I'm going to enfore my justice upon the unjust. No one can tell me what to do."  
"You and your justice! Geez!" Duo tutted. Wu-fei glared at him.  
"What about you, Maxwell, midterms more important than your duty?" It was Duo's turn to glare.  
"Our duty was in the wars of the past, not now. If I have to go, I will, but for no other reason. And you well no I aced my midterms!" Heero groaned and looked over at Trowa.  
"Are you in?" he asked. Trowa nodded.  
"If I must," he uttered silkily. Heero looked over to Quatre and opened his mouth to speak.  
"Don't waste your breath, Heero, the guys not coming," Duo sighed, resuming his hair twiddling.  
"Maybe I am, you haven't asked me." Duo's head shot round on his shoulders.  
"Dude, look at you man, you're shell-shocked!"  
"Maybe, maybe not. Just coz you lucky orphans are leaving nothing, I have a family of thirty to care for and a business of colony building!"  
"Lucky? LUCKY!? Who you calling lucky, rich kid!" Duo growled. Quatre glared at him.  
"Now now children," Trowa sighed, getting to his feet, "now is not the time for arguments. Quatre has a point. But then again, so does Duo. However, the issue now is whether we go as a unit, as individual, or one member down..." he gestured at Quatre. Quatre sighed shakily, removing his nails fro0m the desk and letting his hands drop to his sides.  
"I don't want to hurt them again. That's the last thing I want to do. But if I don't fight there's a good chance they'll get hurt in the crossfire!"  
"Quatre, you're a gundam pilot. If you don't go, then no ones gonna get up and replace you." Duo whispered gently. Quatre sighed again.  
"She's gonna hate me even more for this," he whispered. He got up and walked slowly and silently from the room. The others looked at each other, nodded and walked out.  



	6. Chapter 6

School Day's 6.  
  
Wu-fei slowly opened the large wooden door, clutching the note that had been tacked to it. He walked into the large marble foyer of the Sunset house and looked around. About 5 large mahogany doors were visible around the corridor. He looked back at the note:  
Dear Wu-fei,  
Hiya! Glad you could make it! I'll be in the training room. If you take the third door on your right when you get into the foyer, and then follow the corridor, then take the fifteenth door on your right and then go up the stairs, you'll be getting close! Then just follow the calf ;)  
  
See you soon!  
  
Kitty xx  
  
Wu-fei sighed. He walked along behind a row of comfortable looking sofas and faced the door. It opened easily. He followed the corridor down, counting the doors he passed. Most of them were shut, and the fact that the corridor was dimly lit didn't make it any more homely. Suddenly a sound came into Wu-fei's ears. It was the sound of soft singing. He followed the sound the ninth door on the right. It was ajar. Through the gap he could see a woman in her late twenties washing clothes.   
"These must be the servant's quarters," he said softly, straightening up and carrying on, "I wonder why she wants me to meet her in the servant's quarters." He continued down the dim corridor until he reached the fifteenth door. It was wide open. He walked through it, glancing around, on guard as usual. Of course, it being a privately kept home of two, ehem, rather tame characters, meant it was quite safe, and there were no monsters hiding in closets, or rather, soldiers hiding behind pot-plants, of which there were many. The room was deep red; contrasting with the cool marble with had been present up until now. The floor was mahogany, matching the door, and the walls and rugs were like blood. There were six doors around on the walls, and one archway at the back of the room, leading to a grand staircase. The rooms all had signs on them, such as 'Keep out!' or 'Cleaning in Process.' The sounds of vacuum cleaners and mechanical floor polishers could be head. Wu-fei continued on his way, following the note's instructions. This room contained two large palm trees, either side of a grand staircase. There were two doors on wither side, but they had locks on the front. Wu-fei walked briskly up the stairs. He was getting very tired of this game of cat and mouse; he was not a patient person. He finally reached the top of stairs to find himself once agin surrounded by another numerously doored corridor.  
"This is like one big maze!" he sighed, leaning against the banisters. He looked at the note. "Follow the calf?" he said quietly, "well that makes sense!" Wu-fei turned quickly as he heard a snuffling sound from the left hand corner of the corridor, where turned off into another corridor.   
"Who's there?!" he cried. There was a soft clatter of tiny cloven hooves as a silver calf stepped into the light, blinking at him. It had big brown eyes and small stubs of cream coloured horns. It swished its tail. Wu-fei rolled his eyes.  
"And this is supposed to be normal?" he groaned walking over to the calf apprehensively. The calf looked up at him, blinking dumbly. Wu-fei growled.  
"This is ridiculous! Aren't you supposed to lead me to Kitty?" The calf shuddered at Wu-fei's tone. It sniffed at his hand gently, and then snatched the note.  
"Hey!" Wu-fei protested, reaching out for the calf, but narrowly missing. The Calf darted away and laid down the note. It sniffed at it for a moment, picked it up again and trotted off past Wu-fei and round the corner. Wu-fei growled.  
"This is why I vow never to become a farmer!" he hissed, jogging off after the silver calf.  
  
A few minutes passed, basically consisting of Wu-fei diving round corners after the calf to try and get his note back and failing miserably. Wu-fei growled as he watched the small calf run off down yet another dark corridor until it stopped in a patch of light and sat down. It dropped the note and watched Wu-fei for a while, before trotting off due to sheer boredom. Wu-fei walked slowly towards the note and picked it up gingerly. He read it through again and sighed. He looked down the corridor the calf had exited into, but it was nowhere in sight. He read the note again. He frowned. Wu-fei walked over to the radiator and held the letter over it, hoping for new message to appear. He was disappointed once more. He groaned.  
"I am sick of this game! And besides, I have a Maths exam tomorrow!" he cried, crumpling up the note. From behind him and the glass illuminated window he heard a noise. It sounded like the squeak of trainers on a highly polished gym floor. He turned around, to find that the window was actually a door. He pulled it open and stepped out onto a balcony. The balcony was high above a yellow illuminated sports hall. Wu-fei walked cautiously to the edge of the balcony and peered over. The two opponents stood facing each other. The male brushed his blonde fringe off his damp forehead.  
"That enough warm up for ya?" he asked casually. The female opponent stood bent over her knees, out of breath. She looked up at him.  
"That'll do. Hey, remember, I haven't done this in a long while! Take it easy!" The boy laughed, smirking at his opponent.  
"You should know me better. I don't take it easy." The boy walked over two a locker on the wall of the room. He pulled out a leather bound package. He unwound the leather coils and let them drop to the floor, revealing a golden hilted sword engraved with the ornate letters QRW. The girl looked up as the boy slotted the sword hilt through his belt. It was curved slightly. The girl raised a hand gently and shut her eyes. When she opened them they glowed a deep turquoise. Her finger twitched and the opposite locker swung open. Another similar leather bound article floated out, unravelling quickly. The silver hilted curved sword flew towards its master, and with a flick of the wrist, she caught it and slotted it through her own belt. The carved letters on this smaller hilt read CAW. The boy smiled.  
"You didn't forget that trick I see?" The girl shook her head.  
"'Course not. I use that one all the time. Now can we get this over and done with, I have an appointment." Quatre nodded.  
"Alright then," he grinned. He quickly drew his golden scimitar from its sheath and lunged forward at his sister. She ducked nimbly out of the way and drew her silver article, bringing it up to her brother's. Silver blue sparks flew as the metal titans met and sprung apart almost as rapidly. Kitty somersaulted away, landing gracefully on her feet. Quatre leapt back and grinned.  
"Better than I thought you'd be," he grinned. Kitty cocked her head.  
"What can I say, I love surprises." She ran forward, bringing her blade crashing down against her brother's Quatre frowned and flung Kitty away with a mere gesture. She flew backwards, flat on her back, growling in anger. Quatre relived his aggressive stance and stood still. Kitty got to her feet.  
"How dare you!?" she hissed. Quatre shrugged.  
"That was a perfectly legal move," he said. Wu-fei nodded in agreement, "And besides, all's fair in sibling feuds and war." Kitty glared at him.  
"Not amused, your gonna have to try harder." She sprang foreward again with renewed vigour, crashing the sword down again. Quatre was almost bent over backwards by the force, but it did not last long. He gathered himself again and pushed hard against his opponent. Kitty cried out as she flew backwards and stumbled over. She cat-leapt back up and attacked again, but Quatre was ready, with a flurry of sparks, Kitty crashed into the back wall of the gymnasium. Quatre sighed and sheathed his sword. Kitty staggered to her feet.  
"That wasn't a fair fight, Quatre! I demand a rematch!" Quatre sighed, walking back towards his locker.  
"Who do you think you are to demand a rematch? And besides, I used no foul play. Ask your houseguest." Kitty looked up at Wu-fei and blushed. She glared at Quatre.  
"We will fight again tomorrow evening, then," she stated. Quatre slammed his locker.  
"No, we won't, Kitty. You know full well I have to prepare a speech for the national peace conference on Saturday, and I've repaid my debt for the Polaroid incident. I'm going to revise now. I don't want to be disturbed unless the colony is falling apart." Kitty frowned.  
"But what if I do some cooking and my hair catches fire?" she pouted. Wu-fei sniggered. Quatre walked towards the door, a towel over his shoulder.  
"It's called a sink, Kitty, learn how to use it." He walked out of the room and disappeared from view. Kitty growled.  
"Ignorant brat," she spat furiously, placing the sword away in it's locker. She looked back up at Wu-fei and smiled.  
"Sorry you had to see that," she called, "Quatre's teaching me sword fighting." Wu-fei nodded.  
"I can see that," he said, "you looked good. But you need to maintain power, that's your weakness. That and your anger."  
"I am not an angry person!" Kitty bellowed. Wu-fei raised an eyebrow at her. She blushed again.  
"Ok, so maybe I could work on that. Did Sagittarius being you up OK?" Wu-fei cocked his head. "You know, little silver calf?" Wu-fei nodded.  
"Yeah, he did." Kitty smiled.  
"Good. Do you think you can find your way back to the west grand staircase?" Wuf-ei frowned.  
"You mean the big red one, right?" Kitty nodded, "Sure, of course I can!" Kitty grinned.  
"Right, I'll meet you by the bottom. See you there!" she dashed off out of the door, whilst Wu-fei wandered back the way he had came.  
  
Kitty jogged towards Wu-fei, beaming, with a white towel embroidered with her initials around her neck.  
"Heya!" she cooed. Wu-fei smiled.  
"That was fast!" he laughed. Kitty smiled.  
"Your an enigma Wu-fei, dya know that?" Wu-fei cocked his head. Kitty laughed and began walking back the way Wu-fei had come. Wu-fei followed.  
"What do you mean?" he asked. Kitty just laughed. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her round.  
"What do you mean?" he repeated. Kitty sighed.  
"Well, I've heard some pretty weird stories about you, 'fei," she said slowly, "I mean, people have told me that you were real nuisance, always being bossy and moody and snapping at people, but I've never seen you act like that at all. Your always so sweet and kind and helpful when your with me." Wu-fei blushed.   
"So that's why I'm an enigma? 'Cause I grew up?" Kitty frowned.  
"I was only saying..." she said quietly. Wu-fei sighed.  
"Look, don't worry about it. People just didn't get to know me, and I went through some rough times a while back, that's all." Kitty sighed.  
"If you say so, 'fei. Now come on, Una will be waiting!" With that, Kitty marched off with Wu-fei in tow, back down the dark corridor and into Una's quarters.  
  
Wu-fei sat on the steps of Sunset house, leaning on his hands, waiting for a taxi. He was renting a car for the dance, but unlike most of the people in his year, he didn't have one of his own. Quatre pulled back one of the curtains and sighed.  
"You really shouldn't make him sit out in the cold, ya know?" he said. Kitty was doing a needlework patch for a cushion.  
"I didn't make him," she said, "he said he wanted to sit alone and think. Something about making some choices, sorting something out." Quatre frowned, his promise to the other pilots rushing back into his head.  
"Kitty?" he said meekly. Kitty looked up instanly, her eyes flashing turquoise for a second.  
"What's wrong?" she asked. Quatre looked at Kitty and sighed.  
"Nothing," he said quickly, smiling. Kitty frowned and shook her head, turning back to her needlework. Quatre peered through the curtains again and sighed, misery sweeping over him once more as he thought more and more about the pact.  
  
Wu-fei shuddered a little as a cold breeze blew through the marble pillars of the porch, ruffling his shirt. He sighed and thought of the thing that preoccupied his mind most- the pact. How were they going to carry it out? When? And how was he gonna tell Kitty. Ah yes, Kitty, his other main preoccupation. No one had ever done this to him before. No one had ever made him feel wanted or special, not since his parents, back before he could remember. And they, like all th others, were gone. Destroyed. Failed by him. But Kitty didn't care about his past, or what he had done before he came to Equus high, before he met her. When he thought about it, that time seemed like an empty expanse of bitter battles and injustice. Injustice wasn't going to cease, he had learned that well, but when he was with Kitty, it seemed to fade from him, like ten thousand tonnes of weight from his chest. She wasn't like the others. She didn't judge or seek to know more than what came to her. Or so it seemd to him. She didn't pry, she didn't question, she just accepted. And if she felt the need to question, she squirmed and twitched, expressing her deep discomfort at being curious. And those eyes! Oh, if her sweet naivety wasn't enough, her eyes just stole him away. They were deep and dark like the ocean at night, yet they were clear and bright like a clear sky, and they shone a glittered like moonlit pools. He loved her eyes. They were his relief. If everday he could gaze into those beautiful eyes just once, he would be a happy man. heck, who knows, if all soldiers could see those eyes, maybe they'd be happy too, and wouldn't be such idiots to attack one another in the first place. Wu-fei sniggered to himself at the thought of people queueing up to see Kitty's eyes. He sighed again, but this time lightly and happily. He looked back at the house, with its cozy windows glowing with a warm yellow light from behind their net curtains. The taxi drew up and honked it's horn. Wu-fei got up, discreetly blew a kiss and dashed over to the taxi. 


	7. Chapter 7

Heero walked across the entrance hall and peered cautiously around the door. The party had begun, the huge split banners dancing in the moving air. It was incredibly hot in the room, due to the high population of people dancing. Heero's keen eyes scanned the room, looking for a friendly face. Trowa was standing on the teacher's balcony, gazing over the dance floor in a bored state. Heero smiled. Duo was chatting to his girlfriend, CiCi, and his little group of friends. Heero frowned and walked over. He snatched up Duo's arm.  
"Oh, hey Heero!" said Duo peppily, smiling at him casually. Heero glared at him.  
"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked quietly. CiCi turned and looked at him. She grinned.  
"Hey there cutie!" she cooed girlishly, "What's your name? I don't believe Duo's introduced us yet!" Duo sighed.  
"CiCi, this is Heero, and old friend of mine. Heero, this is CiCi..."  
"I know full well who CiCi is," Heero said, smiling coyly at her, sending her into a fit of giggles, "her reputation's easily picked up, even by someone like me." CiCi blinked at Heero.  
"What do you mean, a person like you?" she asked, flicking a brown heavily styled ringlet out of her face. Duo rolled his eyes.  
"He means the new kid, Ci, k? Listen, we need to talk, so excuse me..." CiCi grabbed Duo's other arm.  
"Oh no you don't," she growled, "you came to this dance with me, not him. You can talk about whatever you need to in front of me, too." Duo shook her off, surprising her with his strength.  
"No, CiCi, this is important. I'll be right back." CiCi frowned and let go of duo's arm. She turned her back on him and continued talking to her friends. Duo sighed and walked off with Heero into a corner.  
"Stupid bitch," Duo growled, "always following me around like some lap-dog. You would have thought she was socially challenged but look at her..." Duo sighed. Heero glared at him.  
"You are jeopardising the entire operation, Duo Maxwell," he said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall. Duo blinked his big blue eyes at Heero and raised an eyebrow.  
"How so?" he asked finally. Heero glanced over at CiCi.  
"CiCi Malone is the biggest blabbermouth in the history of humanity, and you choose to date her," he said, chuckling a little with disbelief, "if you let even the tiniest detail slip to her, the authorities would be on our tails like flies to a picnic!" Duo looked over at CiCi. She was standing, bathed in dancing lights wearing a dainty blue frock with fake scales on it. She was beautiful. He looked back at Heero.  
"She wouldn't do that to me," he said, "she'd keep any secret for me." Heero laughed again.  
"Oh really?" he said, smiling a crooked smile, "like the secret about your baby blanket?" Duo almost fell over.  
"She told you about that!?" he stammered. Heero nodded.  
"I asked Maria what she knew about you, trying to find out how much of our cover you had blown and that was the first thing that popped out of her oversized and over painted mouth." Duo was fuming, possible heated by the giant flames embroidered on his outfit. Heero sighed. Duo looked at his friend.  
"So you want me to dump her and abandon my friends, is that it? Don't you think that's gonna draw attention to me even more?" Heero nodded.  
"Exactly. All I want you to do is find some way to let CiCi down easy, and then the rest will turn their backs on you anyway." Duo groaned.  
"Oh thanks for the confidence boost, bro," he sighed, brushing his fringe out of his face. A short, sharp squeal was heard nearby, causing both parties to look up. A blonde blur rushed past, followed by a few large young men, chuckling coldly. Heero grabbed one of them.  
"What's going on?" he asked sternly. The boy laughed.  
"Just the usual. We do it at every party!" Heero frowned.  
"And what's that?" he asked, an aggressive edge clear in his voice. The boy raised an eyebrow.  
"Dude, dontcha know? We play 'catch the loser'!" And with that, the guy ran off. Another shriek was heard. Duo and Heero looked at each other and uttered only one word.  
"Quatre."  
  
"Put me down!" Quatre yelled as four boys carried him across the lawn. Kitty was being held back by two of the other goons.  
"Let him go!" she shrieked. Quatre heard the guys start laughing as they changed direction. He suddenly saw it. A tall black silhouette in the twilight, the flagpole was directly before him. Quatre began to writhe even more. The guys just held him tighter and broke into a run. Duo and Heero burst out of the building just as the countdown began.  
"Hey! Put him down!" Duo yelled, running forward. They were two late and with one final triumphant cheer; Quatre was run into the flagpole and dropped onto the floor. He immediately curled up, sobbing with agony. Heero tensed up. The guys were slapping high fives. Kitty managed to shake herself free and booted both the guys holding her with a trusty straddle jump. The teetered and toppled like dominos. Kitty ran over to Quatre but was immediately scooped up by two other guys. Heero and Duo were walking briskly across the grass. Duo's eyes were on the crumpled from of Quatre as moved slowly and painfully to his knees. Heero's death glare was set on the assailants. The guys saw Heero coming and noticed him drawing something black from his jacket pocket. They all froze.  
"Run!" yelled the leader, snatching up Quatre and dashing off. The other's followed. Heero broke into a sprint after them. They dropped kitty after a short distance and carried on running. Duo stopped to help her up.  
"Are you OK?" he asked gently. She was sobbing.  
"What are they going to do with him?" she sobbed, collapsing on Duo. He stood stunned for a moment, and then wrapped his arms around the shuddering figure, smiling a little. Heero came wandering back, slotting his gun away.  
"They haven't gone far," he said calmly, "back into the party no doubt." He turned to Kitty, "why didn't either of you tell us about this?" Kitty looked up, her halo askew.  
"It didn't seem important," she sniffed, "I didn't even know you guys were friends... I thought maybe you'd met at one of Quatre's conferences. There's no point confiding in the sons of diplomats..." she broke off, tears over coming her again. Heero glared at Duo.  
"Did you know about this?" he asked. Duo was sweating under Heero's glare.  
"Kinda..." he began. Heero frowned. Duo sighed.  
"Look, I knew Quatre was unpopular, but that's common knowledge! Rich kids are always considered to be losers!" Heero's glare grew in strength. Duo sighed.  
"I knew about the tradition, if that's what you mean," he said, "but I had no idea they were using Quatre as bait, honest!" Heero nodded.  
"Fine," he said slowly, "but right now we have to go and find them. Do you know what they are going to do?" he asked Kitty. She shook her head. She dried her eyes and smiled.  
"I don't know, but Quatre can fend for himself, at least for a little while if he needs to. I probably shouldn't be telling you this," she paused, "but he was a mobile suit pilot once, one of the elite!" Heero froze. Duo smiled.  
"No shit, Sherlock," he laughed, looking at Heero. Heero failed to see the humour. He turned away.  
"You go back to the party, Kitty," he said gently, "we'll find Quatre." Kitty nodded. She reached under the outer layer of her dress and pulled out a long thin sword, bound in a black leather case. It was curved.  
"Give him this," she whispered, handing the weapon to Heero, "he knows how to use it." Heero nodded and began jogging.  
"Come on Duo," he called, dashing around the corner of the school, following the faint shouts of the bullies. Duo let go of Kitty.  
"Are you sure you'll be OK?" he asked. Kitty nodded.  
"Sure! I'm a big girl, I can take of myself." She gave Duo a light kiss on one cheek and walked away. He smiled a little and then ran off after Heero.   
  
Heero peered cautiously around the side of the fence. He tapped Duo on the shoulder and his friend joined him. Quatre was standing in the centre of the football pitched, bathed in light from the spotlights used for nighttime games. The goons, all football players of course, were around him in a loose circle.  
"Hey Catty-boy," said the leader, "got any spare change? My tolerance meter is about to hit zero coz of your sweet as sugar shit!" The others all laughed their low coarse laughs. Quatre smiled, his eyes hidden by his long fringe.  
"Come here and I'll show you bastards sweet as sugar," he spat. The boys all laughed. Quatre tossed his head and glared at them. He laughed a little.  
"Poor little football players haven't got the guts to take me on? Pity..." he hissed. The leader growled.  
"Harsh words for someone with less dick than a cheerleader!" he said viciously.  
"It's not a good idea to use ones entire vocabulary in one sentence, Joe," Quatre shot back. Duo snorted with amusement. Heero slapped him over the head. Joe was shuddering with fury.  
"I've had just about enough of you, little boy..." he began. Quatre began laughing heartily. The jocks all looked at one another. Joe ran at Quatre, but Quatre stepped neatly out of the way, sending Joe flying into one of his friends. Duo was biting his finger to keep himself quiet. Heero smiled.  
"So Quat's still got it, eh?" he said quietly. He unsheathed the golden sword and with one quick toss he threw it into the centre of the circle. All the jocks froze. Quatre's sharp blue eyes shot to the sword. He blinked in shock before walking over to the sword. Joe turned and watched as the blonde youth pulled the golden sword out of the floor with a distinctive metallic twang. He looked at the hilt. In gemstones and twists of precious metals the letters Q R W were spelled out. He smiled and tossed the sword between hands.  
"Anyone want to try their luck?" he asked. Joe growled and ran again at Quatre. This time Quatre flicked his wrist and brought the flat side of the sword hard down against his nose, shattering it instantly. Joe yelped and staggered back, blood pouring from his face and down his tux. Quatre pulled out his pocket-handkerchief and wiped the blood off the blade. He shrugged.  
"You were lucky, Joe," he said severely, "I was aiming for a clean sweep." He stepped closer to Joe and offered him the handkerchief. Joe just glared angrily at the boy. Quatre sighed and tucked it away. The other jocks had long vanished and so he had no problems in walking away. Joe spat some blood on the floor and cursed. Quatre smiled and carried on walking. As soon as he got round the corner of the fence he slid down the wall and exhaled all of his fear away. He was shuddering still, with a mixture of pain, fear and dread. Heero stepped out of the shadows.  
"Nice shot," he said quietly, "personally I would have sliced him open, but each to their own." Quatre looked up and flushed pink.  
"I wish you hadn't seen any of that," he said quietly, getting to his feet, "it's quite embarrassing." He took a step forward, winced and then straightened up. Duo stepped forward too, sniggering.  
"I swear, dude," he said, catching his breath, "if I knew you were this funny I would have stuck by you the whole time! Way to go!" Quatre smiled a little, his pale skin still a rich pink in tone. Heero took the sword and put it back in the sheath.  
"Kitty told me to give it to you." He said, handing the weapon back over. Quatre sighed.  
"She would," he sighed, "violent little bitch." Duo and Heero looked at each other.  
"Quat," Duo said slowly, "are you feeling OK? Maybe your manhood crushing's messed you up or something..." Quatre shook his head.  
"I'm fine. But I was being honest. Kitty can't solve things without getting physically involved, well, not most of the time. She's a very passionate person, and in times to come she's going to be a nuisance." Duo clicked his fingers.  
"That reminds me!" he cried, "Have you told her yet?" Quatre shook his head.  
"No..." he replied, "but I will tell her before I go... maybe just before... oh, I dunno! But not yet, not while she's having fun." Heero sighed.  
"You people and your ridiculous sentiment," he said, turning his back on the others and walking back into the shadows. Quatre and Duo looked at each other, shrugged and followed.  
  
Kitty was sitting on one of the large Marble blocks at the edge of the entrance stairs. Wu-fei was over two hours late. She sighed and leant back, coming face to face with the bottom of CiCi's dress.  
"Whoa!" she cried, "I'm sorry, CiCi, I didn't see you there!" CiCi smiled.  
"It's OK, I have a habit of sneaking up on people," she said, sitting down beside Kitty. She flicked a little lint of her dress.  
"So..." she said, "who did you come with?" Kitty smiled.  
"I came with Quatre, but I was supposed to be meeting someone, except..."  
"He hasn't turned up?" CiCi finished. Kitty nodded.  
"What a bummer!" CiCi exclaimed, "But do you know what, Kits?" she said, her tone harshening, "That doesn't mean you can steal other people's dates!" Kitty stared in disbelief at CiCi.  
"Girl, what are you on?" she said, shaking her head and sidling away. CiCi snatched up her arm in an unusually tight grasp.  
"Don't play innocent little rich kid with me, slut, I know your type!" CiCi was glaring at Kitty with all the menace she could muster. Kitty tried to shake her off.  
"Let go," she cried, "you're hurting!" CiCi smirked.   
"Am I?" she asked coldly, "good!" she tightened her grip, making Kitty squeak a little with pain. CiCi grabbed Kitty's face and turned it towards her.  
"Now you listen here, little girl," she said threateningly, "I saw you out there flirting with Duo."  
"What are you talking about?" Kitty squealed, "flirting? We weren't flirting!"  
"Quiet you!" CiCi snapped, "Now you listen here. I would have understood if he'd been available for a while, like if I'd only come here with him as my date, but he's My BOYFRIEND! I've been dating him for months now! You can't pretend you didn't notice!"  
"I don't even like Duo!" Kitty cried, writhing more in CiCi's grip, "I don't, honest!" CiCi sighed.  
"Listen, Ok, I've had just about enough of your pathetic whining, Ok, so just listen up." She moved her face so close to Kitty's that Kitty could feel her breath on her face. "Stay away from my man, got it?" she said, spite dripping from her words. Kitty nodded vigorously. CiCi flung Kitty's arm back at her.  
"I'm glad we have an understanding," she said, walking off, "see you around, Kitty." Kitty rubbed her arm tenderly and frowned. She looked around and sighed.  
"Where are you?" she growled.   
  
Quatre, Heero and Duo were walking over the lawn when they saw a familiar face running across the grass. Trowa stopped just short of them.  
"Is everything OK?" he said breathlessly, "I heard there was some sort of trouble." Quatre shook his head.  
"Everything's OK, Trowa. We sorted everything out." Duo snorted.  
"Yeah, more like YOU sorted everything out! Smashing people round the head with scimitar's is one way to deal will stupid little..."  
"Shut up Duo," Heero growled, rolling his eyes. Duo pouted.  
"I was being serious! I mean, that was the coolest! Like, it was totally a Wu-Fei move but..."  
"Did someone mention my name?" A cold voice said quietly. Wu-fei stepped out the shadows, jangling a set of keys around his finger. Quatre glared at him.  
"Where have you been?" he asked aggressively. Wu-fei ignored his tone and answered cordially.  
"I have been following up a lead, and I now know how we are to defeat this enemy and their weak mobile suits," he said, jangling the keys. Heero looked intensely at him.  
"And how is that?" he asked. Wu-fei pulled the keys into five different sets. He tossed the keys to each of the other pilots.  
"Let me tell you a little story," he said quietly. Duo yawned.  
"Make it a short one," he sighed, yawning again, "ya know how my attention span gets when I'm tired." Wu-fei frowned.  
"When the Gundam's were finally destroyed after Maremaia's stupid little game, we thought that would be it, so we didn't worry about the future, did we?" The pilots shook their heads. Wu-fei nodded and continued.  
"Well, my friends, a certain group of five men did worry for the future and rebuilt the Gundams in secret. And as this group of five men were involved in the building of the first open colonies, they had a perfect place to hide them, a place where no one could ever guess where they were..."  
"Then how'd you find em?" Duo smirked. Wu-fei glared at him.  
"Do not interrupt me you American jackass!" Duo looked hurt. Heero rolled his intense blue eyes.  
"Can you please get on with it?" he said, his low voice gravely with impatience.  
"Certainly," Wu-fei said calmly, nodding, "the doctors hid the Gundams right under the nose of one of the most publicly pacifistic families." Heero looked up.  
"Relena doesn't have a property on an open colony," he said. Quatre shook his head.  
"No, but I do." Everyone looked at him.  
"Bingo..." Wu-fei whispered. Quatre nodded.  
"I can see why they did it," he said, "it would be impossible to find the gundams then!" Duo stamped his foot.  
"How can it be impossible if Wu-fei found them!" he squealed. Heero smacked him around the head again.  
"Anyway," said Quatre, eyeing Duo in annoyance, "Even if they found out the gundams were hidden beneath one of the winner properties, they wouldn't be able to find them unless they were very lucky. I have dozens of secret properties, and if someone let slip with the Winner name, they would automatically assume it was me. They wouldn't even consider the gundams being hidden under properties belonging to my sisters." Wu-fei nodded.  
"And that's exactly where I found them," he said with a sly smile. Quatre looked at him.  
"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes wide with confusion. Wu-fei sighed.  
"Do I have to spell it out to you imbeciles? The gundams are under sunset house!" Heero immediately looked around. He glared at Wu-fei.  
"You are SO lucky no one heard that," he growled, reaching into his pocket. Wu-fei snorted indignantly.  
"You think I would make such an elementary mistake as to blurt out the exact location of the weapons when there was a spy in the area? Please..." Trowa smiled.  
"I wouldn't put it past you, Wu-fei," Wu-fei started in annoyance, sending a wave of giggles through Quatre and Duo. Heero sighed and smacked both of them around the head.  
"I swear, boy," Duo complained, "you're gonna give me concussion!" Heero smiled.  
"Well, that was what I was aiming for," he said, an evil shadow casting itself over his face. Duo shook his head and sighed.  
"So what's the retrieval plan? Trowa asked. Heero sighed.  
"For now we need to get the machines prepped for action, which means getting them out of that hole and into a safe hiding hole." Wu-fei leant back against the flagpole.  
"The only exit a Gundam could get through is the escape chute. It's a vertical drop straight out of the bottom of the colony. We'd have to go back through the atmosphere." Duo elbowed Heero.  
"Dya think we should tell Wu-fei that his head is exactly where they crashed Quatre's..."  
"SHUT UP!" Quatre yelled in Duo's ear, almost knocking him over in shock. Heero laughed gently as Duo got up and dusted himself off. Wu-fei shook his head. Quatre coughed a little and then continued.  
"The colony has a sensor to detect atmosphere movement. It's about two miles from here. We could shut it off, but we've gotta be inconspicuous." Everyone agreed. Heero nodded.  
"Then here's the plan. Myself, Duo and Trowa will head for the gundams. We can set Sandrock and Nataku for autopilot. I'll land Nataku in the forest somewhere and Sandrock back at Sunset house. You can hide it in the aircraft hangar," he said to Quatre. Quatre nodded.  
"OK, while you're doing that I'll head straight for the sensor and shut it off. Wu-fei, you'll have to keep Kitty occupied for a while." Wu-fei blushed a little but said nothing. "Tell her that I'm taking Pegasus home, and you take the car. Take her out for a drink or something. I'll meet you back at Sunset house." Duo nodded.  
"All I gotta do is dump CiCi and we're sorted!" At which point, the blue dress clad cheerleader stormed across the School lawn towards the group.  
"Duo Maxwell!" she called aggressively. He turned.  
"You rang?" he answered. CiCi was shuddering with fury.  
"You can forget coming home with me, Duo, it's over!" Duo tutted.  
"Ok, for one thing I brought you here, and two, what the hell's up with you?" CiCi laughed coldly.  
"Pur-lease, Duo, ya think I wouldn't notice you canoodling with that hussy out here?" Duo looked exasperated.  
"Again, what?" he managed to splutter. CiCi ignored him and looked at Quatre.  
"Your sisters a little slut, you know?" Quatre's jaw dropped. CiCi smirked, "Tell her to stay away from my man, k?" She clacked off back into the hall. Heero, Trowa and Wu-fei looked at one another and started sniggering.  
"What the FUCK just happened?" Quatre said, turning away and emphasising the curse word with his balled fist. Duo shrugged.  
"Beats me, dude," he said, turning around. He flushed bright pink at the hysterical pilots behind him. They saw his face and just collapsed. 


	8. Chapter 8 (?)

Several peaceful days of high school passed for the pilots. On the friday afternoon, the day before the holidays, Kitty stood outside the hall watching Duo prepare for his Gym exam. Currently he was shadow boxing. Kitty laughed silently. He looked like a right twit. Duo continued stretching and exercising until their gym teacher entered the hall.  
"Are you ready?" she asked. Duo nodded slowly. The teacher sighed. "Good," she said, "begin!" And so he did. And with a blaze of somersaults, flips, cartwheels, rolls and leaps, Duo passed with an A.  
  
The day passed quickly, and soon the evenign came. Heerol slowly landed his gundam on the pristeen lawn of Sunset house, spooking Pegasus completly. He paged Quatre to say he had arrived. Quatre was organising the coordination of the launches, so as not to be noticed. Wu-fei had his gundam hidden on the outskirts of the Winner estate, and was to launch as soon as Heero had left with Kitty. Heero had promised to try and be talkative to keep Kitty from looking out of the window of her jet. Following Wu-fei would be Duo and Trowa, stationed on the other side of the school. They would arrive shortly before Heero, but after Wu-fei. Quatre would be the last, taking both Sandrock and Wing to the rendevouz point. Then the pilots would proceed to the conference, meet and sort out any trouble there. It was a flawless operation, except for two factors. Kitty Anne Winner and Relena Peacecraft. Kitty had been asked to make a speech in parliament a few months ago, and her and Relena hadn't exactly seen eye to eye. To be honest, the loathed eachother. How were five gundam pilots, who were familiar and friendly in most cases with both parties, going to protect them both and the rest of the guests, yet keep the pair apart?  
  
Heero stood in the reception hall, looking at the fabulous tapestry that hung beside him on the wall. Kitty was supposed to be ready by now, and she was still in her room. Heero spotted Miss Una, the old Nanny and now head maid dusting and attracted her attention. She trotted over and smiled.  
"Master Yuy?"  
"When will Kitty be ready? We're going to be very late if she isn't here soon."  
"I'm sure Miss Kitty has a reason to be taking this long. I'm sure she will be along momentarily Mr Yuy, but in the meantime, would you care for a seat?" Heero shook his head.  
"I'll stand."  
"Oh, I see," said Una, unimpressed. "Well then, I best get on with my work. Good evening Mr Yuy." Heero nodded in response and Una hurried away up the stairs.  
  
"I don't like this one bit," Quatre whined, flicking through Kitty's diary. Kitty walked over and snatched it away.  
"Why not? You said I ought to get out more, and I am. You're just sour because you weren't invited to the International peace conference!"  
"Was too!"  
"Oh really?" Kitty raised her eyebrow whilst fitting on her skirt frame in the mirror.  
"Yes really! I'm going along later. I have a history assignment to finish." Kitty looked at her brother and smiled at him.  
"Baby, you have got to lighten up. It's Friday, and the end of term. You have all holiday! And this is the International peace conference for heavens sakes!" Quatre sighed.  
"Alright, I'll go and get ready. But you better hurry it up too. I bet Mr 'mute' Yuy is waiting downstairs for you." Kitty smiled a crooked smile and pushed Quatre through the door that linked their rooms.  
"Hop it, you! And I am hurrying!" Kitty walked swiftly to her wardrobe. Hung next to a dress wrapped up in a clothes bag hung a lilac, violet and gold dress, which Kitty promptly pulled out and pulled gently over her head. She straightened it out and looked in the mirror at how it hung around her. Una hurried into the room.  
"Miss Kitty! Your accompaniment is waiting for you, we must make haste!" Kitty sat down on a chair and Una quickly put her hair up in fiddly ringlets and a pretty braided bun. Una quickly made the finishing touches to Kitty's apparel with a pair of lilac shoes and long lilac gloves. She added a little colour to Kitty's face and then headed for some new jewellery that lay on the table.  
"No Una, I will wear my own jewellery, thank you," Kitty commanded. Una nodded gently and picked up her headpiece, the teardrop and the rhombus, and a silver pendant in the shape of a circle with a bottom of a triangle. It had patterns on it in gold and a large opal in the middle. Una looked at Kitty.  
"I think we are ready, Miss Kitty, now hurry along!" Kitty snatched up her bag and headed out of her room. Quatre dashed up to her side as the hurried along the corridor, straightening up his tie.  
"Have you got your scimitar?" he asked rashly.  
"Of course not! It's a peace conference you numbskull, what use would I have for a weapon?" Quatre frowned.  
"Can't you sense it in the air, something is going to happen tonight, and I'm positive it won't be in our favour." Kitty smiled.  
"Of course I do Quatre, but I have learnt in my 14 years of life that sometimes it is more fun, and much better, to let the future play out its course without us interfering. Now call your taxi here. I have to go." Quatre looked at his little sister, possibly the most precious thing to him in the world and sighed. Tonight her life might be put in jeopardy and he knew it. He hugged her briefly and turned to the phone. Kitty clacked away down the corridor and towards the staircase. She paused at the top. Heero looked up. He almost let his jaw drop at the beautiful girl he was going to end up going to the Peace conference with. He instead formed his face into a sweet smile. Kitty jogged down the steps and walked up to him, now almost eye to eye with Heero in her shoes.  
"So, do we have a transport?" Kitty asked to break Heero's silence. Heero paused and then nodded.  
"It's a little cramped, I will admit, but it's the only thing I've got." Kitty smiled.  
"If you like, you can borrow my jet?" she suggested. Heero frowned.  
"I'd rather fly in my own vessel, but thinking of your comfort, we can take your jet." Kitty nodded and they headed out of the door. Parked on the lawn was a gundam. Kitty let her jaw drop.  
"On second thoughts, let me fly that!" Kitty pleaded, almost running towards the thing. Heero grabbed her hand and dragged her back towards him.  
"Not now. Tonight we fly in your jet, as you requested." Kitty almost squirmed to get another view of the amazing machine parked on her pristine lawn but failed as Heero was whisking her along with force.  
"And besides, I don't want you under the effects of the zero system for the conference. Or ever, for that matter." Kitty blinked in shock.  
"That's the thing with the zero system?" she asked, still amazed. Heero nodded.  
"Why, have you heard of the system?"  
"Not really," Kitty sighed, flushing slightly, "it's just I sensed pain in Quatre once, and 'The Zero System' had come up in conversation." Heero looked at Kitty.  
"It causes pain to those who cannot control themselves enough to control it." Kitty looked up at Heero.  
"You suffered too, didn't you?" she said, squinting a little. Heero could swear he saw another shade of blue in her eyes for a moment. He looked away.  
"It's classified." He said sharply, and quickened the pace to the jet further. Kitty sighed and walked swiftly to keep up.  
"You know you can tell me anything, Heero, as far as I'm concerned, you're my best friend, and I will be happy to help you with anything that's on you're mind." Heero halted and grabbed Kitty's shoulders. He stared into her eyes.  
"Kitty, I would love to tell you everything on my troubled mind, but it would do you or I no favours. All I can say is that when a mind mourns in silence over things that have come to pass, it is often better if it is left to do so in peace." Kitty blinked at him and sighed.  
"I said just the same thing to Quatre once," she whispered, her eyes glinting with tears. She blinked them back, pushing back painful memories of what came before and smiled, "oh well, come along, we've got to get going, the peace conference won't wait!"  
  
Quatre sat in his room. He hadn't called the taxi at all. He didn't really want to go. He sighed.  
"Why am I doing this?" he asked. The room didn't answer. Quatre pulled up a piece of paper and his favourite writing pen. It was carved from wood with tiny pictures chipped into the sides. Kitty had made it for him the birthday before he went away. He put the pen to paper with hands that shook with emotion, and wrote out his note. A few minutes later, he put down the pen, almost overcome and stood up. He mentally shook himself and sighed. He walked into Kitty's room and slotted the note and the pen into the arms of a note clip. He looked at the photo in the other stem. It showed himself riding Pegasus. The two most important things in the world to Kitty were together in one tiny Polaroid. He sighed. He looked around the room once more, coughed slightly, straightened his tie and walked out.  
  
When Quatre walked out onto the lawn, he saw the immense Gundam parked there. He looked at it, and then at the fading engine fuel lines in the sky from Kitty's jet. Quatre jogged over the nearest hangar and pressed a few keys on the keypad. The hangar's roof slid open, revealing a shadowed large humanoid figure.  
"I am glad you are still listening, My Sandrock," Quatre whispered, smiling weakly. He pulled out his pager, wrote a short message and sent it to the first number in his address book. Quatre had this all planned out. He jogged over to Heero's machine. He clambered into the cockpit and started the engine. It leapt into action, the frequency generator humming slightly with lack of use. Quatre inserted the small round disc into a slot, and thirteen red lights flicked off in succession. Quatre suddenly felt slightly light headed as a huge pressure lifted from his chest and his head, and a thousand dumb questions melted from his mind. He sighed a wiped a bead or two of sweat from his forehead.   
"Here goes nothing," he sighed, pulling back a lever and pushing hard on the third foot pedal. The machine lifted off slowly, building enough momentum to change its configuration into a jet. Sandrock's arm was outstretched as Wing Zero glided slowly over; it caught one of the grip hooks and was pulled off by it. Quatre felt this happen and pushed down on the acceleration. The two Gundams shot off into the darkness, letting Quatre Raberba Winner only a short glimpse of his home, a place he was leaving once more, and this time, for good. 


	9. Chapter 9

Kitty hopped down the last few steps to the ground and looked back up to Heero, who was busy looking over the masonry on the door.  
"Heero!" she laughed. He turned and smiled weakly. He jogged down to her.  
"Who built that door?" he asked. Kitty looked up at it and frowned.  
"I did," she replied shortly, "now come on! We'll be late!" Heero stared at her, his eyes, which had softened and warmed over the past few weeks grew solid once more.  
"You made them? All by yourself?" Kitty sighed, throwing her hands against her hips.  
"Yes Heero, I did. Why do you think we have all those aircraft hangars around the mansion? They're my workshops! Oh, and ones an indoor arena but that's not the point..."   
"Where did you learn how to make them?" he asked, cutting her off. Kitty was now going pink with impatience.  
"I have a degree in computer mechanics, Heero. I did it last year over the summer. Can we go in now?" She began to walk away, but Heero clutched her wrist.  
"Where did you get the idea for that sort of hatch?" he asked. Kitty writhed a little.  
"Heero," she said weakly, "you're hurting." Heero paid no attention to her, tightening his grip if anything.  
"Where?" he demanded, his voice growing louder. Kitty whimpered, twisting her arm.  
"Let go, Heero!" she yelped, a few politicians turning to look. Heero pulled her close and whispered in her ear.  
"Listen, do you want to make a scene? Do you want them to try and come and 'remove' me, and then watch me beat them up, huh?" Kitty was shivering. She shook her head. Heero yanked her wrist, making her cry out.  
"Then tell me," he said coldly.  
"I...I saw some plans... lying around. I just looked at them, honest! I didn't copy! I'm sorry; I shouldn't have looked at them. I'm sorry!" Something suddenly clicked in Heero's head and he released her wrist. Kitty didn't move away from him. She merely looked up into his Prussian eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry." Heero shook his head, blinking wildly.  
"What am I thinking?" he asked himself quietly, "What am I doing?" He looked at Kitty and hugged her briefly. "I'm the one who's sorry," he said quietly, barely audible. Kitty pulled back and looked at Heero, long and hard, before speaking.  
"What were you going to say about the doors?" She asked. Heero smiled.  
"Don't you want to go to the party?" he said, changing the subject and walking away.  
"What about the hatch, Heero!" Kitty cried after him. Heero turned and smiled.  
"It's very good. Almost like one of those royal shuttle hatches," he called back, beckoning with his hand for her to follow. Kitty rubbed her bruised wrist and jogged after him, her heels clacking on the paving.  
  
Quatre landed Wing Zero at the rendezvous point. Wu-fei was standing at Nataku's hatch, tapping his foot with arms folded. Quatre climbed down.  
"Where is Maxwell?" Wu-fei asked harshly, "He's late." Quatre smiled.  
"Don't worry. He probably just picked up some food on the way here. You know what the buffets at these parties are like." Wu-fei raised an eyebrow.  
"Actually," he said, sliding down the hatch cord, "I don't. You're the diplomat, remember?" Quatre laughed.  
"Sorry. I'm just used to talking to Kitty about these things." Suddenly a low rumble was heard nearby and Deathscythe materialized next to Sandrock. Duo got out of his cockpit, looking extremely angry.  
"I got here before you did, 'fei! And I heard all those mean things you said! Fat! Cocky! Stupid! American... Hey, that last ones right! But I'm still mad at you!" He folded his arms and stuck his nose in the air. Quatre collapsed in hysterics. Wu-fei smacked him sharply over the head.  
"Shut up, pole boy," he said coldly. Quatre pouted.  
"You're never gonna drop that, are you?" he said. Duo grinned, alighting from the cockpit.  
"Nope. I mean, at the time it was pretty bad, but now, well lets just say its one for the grandkids... one day, long ago, my old friend Quatre..." Quatre glared at Duo.  
"You better shut up if you wanna meet your grandkids, Duo!" Duo immediately buttoned his lip. Duo frowned, watching the blonde walk away. Quatre was so tense all of a sudden. Then it hit him.  
"Hey Quat," he called over his shoulder, "you told Kit yet?" Quatre froze. How did he know. He sighed and walked back to Sandrock's feet. He slumped against the right one and sighed. Duo sidled up to Wu-fei.  
"Guess not," he whispered. Wu-fei frowned.  
"If he had any respect for her, a fine figure of a woman, if I do say so myself, she would have been the first to know." Duo looked at Wu-fei and sniggered. Wu-fei's cheeks grew pink. "And what, may I ask," said Wu-fei coldly, "do you have to laugh about?" This just made things worse. Quatre looked up.  
"Duo?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Duo sighed, still giggling.  
"'A fine figure of a woman'!" he quoted, "You think Kitty's fit!" Wu-fei suddenly felt that if there was any justice in the world, the ground would swallow him up and he would never return. Quatre looked ready to explode.  
"What… was… that?" he growled. Duo suddenly looked rather worried.   
"Talk about Mister Over-protective!" Duo laughed weakly. Wu-fei, who usually stood his ground, looked ready to bolt. Quatre got to his feet and pulled out a small pot of smelling salts and sniffed at it. He sighed heavily, but did not make eye contact with Wu-fei again for a very long time. Wu-fei smacked Duo hard over the head.  
"Stupid American," he muttered, straightening out his suit. Kitty had given him a Chinese embroidery kit for his birthday in February, and it being from Kitty, he had had to try it out. It was actually really good. He had embroidered one of his plain white typical suits with some of the patterns. On the front was written 'Chang Wu-fei of the Dragon Clan' in Chinese glyphs and on the back was a huge embroidered dragon, reaching from the collar to the hem. It had taken him weeks, but he was proud of it. He clutched the hatch cord and climbed back up to his cockpit.  
  
Duo sat for a while, rubbing his head. It was far too silent. Quatre was in a dreadful mood, partially because he felt guilty about not telling Kitty he was leaving in three or so hours, and partly because some cocky Chinese twit had been drooling over his little sister for goodness knows how long, right under his nose. Quatre snuggled down on the top of Sandrocks foot. He had discovered that there was a little alcove on the foot that was perfect for sitting in, and this was where he was settled. Wu-fei on the other hand was in his cockpit with the hatch locked, swearing away to hearts content and fearing the wrath of Quatre, as ridiculous as it may sound. There was a noise behind the gundams. Duo turned to see a large aircraft carrier jet landing nearby.  
"Hey guys!" he called, "Trowa's here! Let's get moving!" Quatre solemnly climbed up into the cockpit, glaring at Nataku the entire time, a distasteful look of malice igniting his eyes. Wu-fei didn't bother to confirm that he had heard Duo. He simply turned on the engine, trying to escape Quatre's penetrating glare. The three gundams made their way into the hull of the jet and the pilots went up to meet Trowa in the cockpit.  
"We're all accounted for then?" he said quietly. Duo sighed.  
"Sure are. Heero paged me to tell me he and Kitty were landing at the conference about 5 minutes ago. Quatre suddenly yelped. Everyone stared at him.  
"Nothing," he wheezed, clutching his wrist. The others sighed and Trowa started the ignition. To be honest, he was sure he ahd sensed that something was hurting Kitty, and a complete lapse of emotion coming from Heero. He fell back into his chair and frowned. He caught a glance from Wu-fei, tutted and stormed out of the room. Trowa smiled.  
"Let me guess, you pissed him off?" Duo pouted.  
"I did nothing! It was hiiim! HIIIIM!" He said, making an x symbol at Wu-fei. Wu-fei spun his chair around and faced the back of the cockpit. Trowa laughed.  
"Okay, Wu-fei, what did you do? Or has Quatre been at the Zero System again?" Wu-fei turned and glared at Trowa.  
"Possibly both," he replied bluntly. Quatre walked back into the room.  
"I heard that," he hissed. Wu-fei stuck his nose in the air.  
"I'm glad for you," he said childishly. Quatre copied the movement. Trowa groaned.  
"What happened?" he asked. Big mistake. The pair started babbling away at each other, trying to outdo each other in volume.  
"Take it easy, guys!" Trowa cried, "We can't hear what your saying! One at a time!" Quatre decided to start.  
"He started it." He began. Wu-fei flushed pink.  
"Did not," he whined. Duo jumped up and stood between them.  
"STOP IT!" he yelled! "I'll tell Trowa! You two are too blatantly pathetic to utter a word without reverting back to 2-year-old mode!" Quatre looked hurt. Wu-fei spun his chair around again. Duo sighed. "Basically," he said, "Wu-fei admitted to liking Kitty, and Quatre's acting like he's got a rat up his arse over it." Quatre started squealing protests. Duo groaned. "Make that a very large rat." Trowa sighed.  
"Look, we're going to battle aren't we?" he said. The pilots all nodded. "Then can you please wait until then to kill each other? For one thing, I had to hire this thing with my wages, and if I mess it up, I'm toast, and two; we are going to a conference ball. Quatre, you for one should know that there are several conditions on which you can't go in, including a black eye."  
"Then can I punch him in the stomach?" Wu-fei asked coldly. Quatre looked ready to forget he was a pacifist and spill some blood. Trowa handed Duo the controls.  
"Can't you two behave for just one night? I can understand you're a little over-excited, but this isn't a time when we want violence within the ranks, OK?" Quatre hung his head in his hands.  
"A little over excited," he said blankly, "ha! You have no idea." He looked strangely like he was about to cry. Wu-fei was silent for a time, sensing that he had made his point. Trowa returned to the controls and landed the carrier behind the conference hall.  
  
Kitty and Heero were slowly walking down the hallway in silence. Heero felt awkward. His soldier insticts were still as clear as day, and every time he so much as glanced at Kitty now, he felt like he was split into. One half of him wanted to snap her neck. She had seen Sandrock's plans. She could be accounted as a security risk. The other half wanted to smile sweetly at her and tell her how great she looked. It was the way her hair bobbed on her shoulders, the way she walked, the elgant grace with which she moved, it made him think of someone else. Someone who was just about to bump into them.  
"Lady Winner!" a loud shreik said. Kitty froze and laughed.  
"Miss Relena, what a surprise!" she said, turning to face the other girl. Relena glared at Kitty.  
"Do you have any idea how much of a nuisance you are?" she growled. Kitty laughed again, her voice dripping with sarcasm, in a chill tone that sent shivers up even Heero's spine.  
"No Miss Relena, I don't," she said finally, "but I'm sure your going to bore both me and my guest with the details. Let me guess... does it have soemthing to do with my aplication for the posistion of Defence Minister? Or is it about those letters of complaint?"  
"Complaint?" Heero whispered. He still hadn't turned around. Relena groaned.  
"You need to grow up, Cuatro!" she began. Kitty laughed again.  
"Oo! Big scary foreign minister is using my full name! Oh, I'm shaking in my stilletoes!" Relena stormed over to Kitty.  
"How dare you!" she boomed, "First, you send threatening and rude letters to me at the commons, and now you insult me at the peace conference!" Kitty sighed.  
"The same way I dare to do this, Relena." And with that, she turned shrply on her heel and linked arms with Heero. "We can go in now, Heero," she said quickly. Relena froze.  
"He...Heero?" she said quietly. Kitty turned again, her eyes a blaze of blues. She frowned.  
"My school friend. I invited him along. Is that suddenly a disgrace too?" Relena stretched out a hand gingerly, and then withdrew it twice as quick, like some small animal, pawing at floor.  
"Heero, if that is you, look at me," she siad quietly. Kitty scowled.  
"I don't have time for this, Relena. If you wish to speak to my friend, you may catch him later. I have yet to make my entrance, and as YOU know, appearance is everything," she said, smirking. Relena was frozen to the spot. She hadn't seen Heero for so long, and now he was right there, or at least she thought he was. Kitty began to walk towards the door, but Heero didn't move. He turned and stared at Relena for a moment and then caught up with Kitty. Relena suddenly felt anger overcome her.   
"First she takes my dignity, then my pride and now... oh I'll get you for this Kitty Winner, I swear I will!" she hissed to herself. Kitty waved a hand gently and Relena slapped her hands over her mouth. How could Kitty have heard her? She was at least twenty metres away, and Relena had been whispering!  
  
The four Gundam pilots entered the hallway at the same time. Everyone looked up. Suddenly butlers and doormen and security guards and waiters were flying at them from every direction, crowing the three latter pilots, but leaving a clear gangway for Quatre to pass through.  
"Mr Winner! What an honour!"  
"I wasn't expecting you so soon, or I would have put on a fresh apron!"  
"It's so great to see you well!"  
"You look fantastic! Is that a new tie?"  
"Marvellous to see you again, Master Winner, you and your sister!" At this Quatre tensed up and glared at Wu-fei. The followers began to part company, realising that Quatre was not in the mood to reply, all but one young waitress.  
"Please sir, who was that handsome young man your darling sister came in with?" Quatre looked at Wu-fei sharply, and then at the maid.  
"He is a close friend of ours," he replied with a smile. The maid blushed furiously and dashed away. Wu-fei pulled a face of distaste at the girl.  
"Weak Onna. She should be ashamed to be so pathetic." Quatre glared at Wu-fei.  
"Not half as ashamed as you'll be if you even so much as look ay Kitty tonight." Quatre stormed off towards the doors, leaving the other three pilots behind.  
"Is he still mad at you? Sheesh!" Duo cried. Trowa sighed.  
"You guys just don't get it," he said, "Quatre has a lot on his mind. We're the lucky ones. We don't have to go saying goodbyes, and no one is going to know we've gone. But Quatre's got a lot on his plate, being the head of Winner Corps and being a minister of Pacifism. We cna only try and be supportive of him right now. And you," he said, turning to Wu-fei, "better stay clear of Kitty tonight, or he's going to blow a fuse." Wu-fei frowned.  
"I have no intention of going near her. But if she comes near me, I won't have a choice, will I?" duo rolled his eyes.  
"Incorrigable," he hissed at Trowa. Wu-fei grinned and walked towards the doors.  
"I surprised a word that longs in your vocabulary, Maxwell," he said snidely, and entered the hall. 


	10. Chapter 10

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Cried the doorman, looking over at Kitty and Heero as they entered the room, "Lady Winner!" The courtiers and politicians had a mixed response. There had been a long literary fued between Relena and Kitty. Kitty had started by sending a letter to Relena, which was read out at the commons, attacking her methods. After that, a constant wave of letters was sent back and forth, and the commons and its ministers were bcoming divided over who they supported. Kitty and Heero walked slowly down the steps, Kitty waving a begloved hand at the acquaintances. Heero felt very out of place and hid behind his untidy fringe. At the bottom of the steps, Kitty turned to Heero.  
"I'm guessing you know Relena," she said quietly. Heero nodded. "And then I'm also guessing your on her side." Heero looked confused.  
"I don't take sides... and sides of what?" Kitty smiled.  
"It's OK, Heero, I understand completely. You're my friend no matter what OK?" She looked around, and saw Relena entering the room. "Listen, I'd better get out of site- she'll throttle me if she catches me." Heero grabbed Kitty's arm again. She winced. Heero frowned.  
"I thought I apologised for that," he sighed. Kitty nodded.  
"Yeah, but I learn from mistakes," she replied. Heero smiled.  
"What's this all about? It sounds like you two get don't get along." Kitty laughed quietly as Relena's name rung across the hall, and the vast majority cheered, and many ran up to greet her.   
"I have very differnt views to Relena, Heero," she said, "to put it simply. Relena belives what she is doing is right, but I think the government needs a reform. I think she's forgetting who we owe this peace to..." Heero cut Kitty off.  
"I'll support Relena is whatever she does, but I agree with what you are saying. What I don't agree to is this sudden attitude you've developed- it's not impressive. I abstain from the argument." Kitty frowned, but then smiled.  
"I understand, Heero. And I'll back off, too. But if you want to dance later, my companionship is yours." She winked, "go get her." And with that, Kitty's bobbing golden haired head vanished into the crowd.  
  
A few minutes later, Quatre entered the hall. He dodged the doorman for a moment and surveryed the room. Heero was over on the far side, leant against the wall, alone. Quatre tutted.  
"Some friends this lot are," he whispered, "can't even behave around my sister!" Quatre's cerulean eyes darted across the floor, halting on Kitty, who was discussing something with Minister's Rockhorth and Blackthorn. Relena was speeding towards her, fire in her eyes. Quatre suddenly sensed something and looked across the viewing balcony. There were several people gathwered on the other side. Many were couples, watching the merry making and chatting away, but there were five or so figures behind. One of them glanced at Quatre, and then looked away. Quatre frowned and went to pull out his pager. The Doorman spotted him and gestured at him to coem to the stairs. Quatre groaned and did as commanded.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, The Minister of Pacifism of the L4 cluster, manager and owner of Winner corps and co-arranger of this ball, Ladies and Gentlemen, Quatre Raberba Winner!"  
  
Duo was lsitening at the door when he heard a deafening cheer.  
"Ok, Quatre's in," he said, turnignt o the others, "now it's our turn." Trowa looked at Wu-fei, who was sulking in a corner and fiddling with the needlework patch on his suit.  
"Try and slip in quietly, we don't want people asking questions," Trowa said, looking particularly at Wu-fei. Wu-fei nodded. The three slipped in the door and whilst Quatre was being drooled over by the crowds the dashed downt he stairs, unnoticed. Duo saw Heero and waved at him.  
"Lets go talk to Heero, see if anythings up." Trowa nodded and turned to Wu-fei.  
"Kitty came with Heero," he said calmly, "so you'd do well to stay over here, out of the way. Check out the balcony. I think i spotted some shifty characters." Wu-fei sighed.  
"I do not approve of beign ordered about, but if I value my neck, I shall do as i am told." With that, he climbed bakc up the stairs and leant against the banisters, sulking. Trowa shook his head and followed Duo.  
  
"Hey! Whassup?" Duo cried as they approached Heero, "you look a little down in the mouth." Heero bowed his head.  
"Any news?" he said tonelessly. Duo started.  
"Sheesh! What happened?" he said, laughing a little at Heero's tone. Heero didn't look up.  
"For starters, Kitty knows all about the gundams," he said.  
"How?" asked Trowa, "Would Quatre really be stupid enough to tell her?" Heero shook his head.  
"Of course not, but he was stupid enough to keep Sandrock's plans, and Kitty saw them. She built her jet later, and the door hatch is an improvement on the gundam platform hatches, modified for steps." Duo raised his eyebrows.  
"Serious?" he asked, "Whoah, Kitty must be pretty smart!" Trowa rolled his eyes.  
"Duo, you can be so unbeliveably naive at times, do you know that?" Duo looked hurt. "Kitty has been put up two years in school because thats the maximum the government allows. She's done several university and college courses in her spare time. She's a bonified genius!" Duo frowned.  
"And she took the time to teach my gymnastics when she was that busy. Wow." Hidden to everyone but Duo, the tips of his ears flushed pink. Heero groaned.  
"That's not all. I think Kitty could be a threat in this battle if Quatre doesn't get her to stay." Trowa cocked his head.  
"What do you mean?" he asked. Heero looked over at Kitty, who was now chatting with some sons and daughters of diplomats about her own age.  
"Kitty said that Quatre promised never to leave her again. He still hasn't told her that he's leaving." Duo snorted.  
"We know. He completely spazzed out at Wu-fei about it!" Trowa nodded in agreement. Heero continued.  
"Kitty told me that she's made a decision. If Quatre leaves again, so will she. She'll make a battle jet modification to her current jet and join forces with an organization specialising in attaining peace and gaining information." Trowa frowned.  
"Would she really go that far? I mean, Kitty's a tough girl, I know that, but she's still a child, and she's nervous. Would she be the type to dash of into space for a full scale war?" Duo nodded.  
"If Quatre's involved, I'm sure she'd jump infront of Sandrock for him!" Trowa sighed.  
"Then Quatre's simply going to have to tell her. There's no way I'm going to let Kitty Winner go into space if I can help it."  
  
Relena had dragged Kitty out onto a balcony. Kitty stood before her with hands on hips, frowning.  
"Is it your absolute aim to ruin my evening?" she asked. Relena growled.  
"Oh grow up, you incorrigable creature! I am sick of this!" Relena turned on her heel and leant against the banister. "I can't stand all this conflict anymore," she said, and turned back to face Kitty, "what are you trying to achieve in attacking me?" Kitty was shocked. She stammered for a moment and then straightened herself out.  
"Justice for those who we owe peace to, Miss Relena," she said finally. Relena yelped in frustration.  
"What do you mean by that?" she cried, "What is it that you want!" Kitty folded her arms behind her back.  
"Soldiers have become social outcasts in the past few years, thanks to the lack of jobs requiring their skills and the violent rumours your parliament has let slip about soldiers needing a war. Well, I think you should have better control of your ministers, Miss Darlian, I really do!" Kitty turned away and continued. "Soldiers DON'T need a war. All they need is somewhere to go, better services for them, to help them back in to the soceity they saved and to let them live a normal life. I'm sure you know about the preventers organization?" Relena nodded. "Well, they won't accept most soldiers; they just want the elite. What about the footmen and the men who were out there on the front line, whilst the 'elite' cowered behind them? They have nothing now." She turned to Relena and stared deep into her eyes. "Heero has been lucky," she said, and Relena froze, "He has managed to re-start his life, with a proper education. However, I sense he is uneasy- the tools of war take effort to be reforged. If the government cannot not put in the effort to help fund rehabilitation, soldiers like Heero will up and leave their new lives, full of frustration and hatred for the world for not helping them, and you will have to dispose of them. It is far to late for many of our warriors- The ones who we owe our peace to, but maybe, just maybe, you could try and help those who you can still reach." Relena blinked slowly, eyeing Kitty with the greatest interest. She smiled.  
"So that's what you wanted," she said quietly. Kitty nodded. Tears were in here eyes.  
"I just want to help them. I don't..." she paused and sobbed, "I don't want Quatre to leave me again!" Relena walked over at hugged Kitty, making soft noises to try and calm her down. Heero walked out onto the balcony and watched. Kitty wiped her face with a handkerchief and sighed.  
"You've saved your brother, or rather he have saved himself. Now, please, help me save mine." Relena could feel the tears pricking in her eyes now. She smiled.  
"I can only offer you my word, Kitty, that I will try my very best," she said quietly. Kitty nodded, sniffing a little and dabbing at her eyes. She turned to Heero and smiled.   
"Start your good work now, Relena," she said as she walked away, leaving Heero and Relena standing face to face for the first time in too long a time.  
  
Back in the ballroom, Wu-fei was still watching silently whilst everyone else was enjoying themselves. Quatre was spekaing to the group of youngsters Kitty had spoken to earlier, Duo was dancing with Collette, a girl from school who was the daughter of the Minister of Littleton and Trowa was speaking to Orchestra's very attractive female flautist, who was on her break at the time. Wu-fei groaned and leant his head against the banister. This was ridiculous! Suddenly, something caught his eye and he looked up. Four figures stood on the opposite side of the balcony, eyeing the other guests cautiously. Wu-fei frowned. A tall, dark haired man began to speak in a hushed voice ot a young woman. She nodded and left. The man looked up, catching Wu-fei's eyes. He frowned and went over to another man, yonger than him, who was wearing a hat. Wu-fei turned away. Something's up, he said to himself. he looked over his shoulder to see the hat-man moving slowly towards him, clutching somethign in his pocket. Wu-fei immediatley sped down the stairs. This was no time to be getting into a fight. Wu-fei signalled to Trowa, who frowned.  
"I'll be right back, Marissa," he said. The girl nodded. Trowa walked over to Wu-fei.  
"I was getting information, Wu-fei!" he hissed. Wu-fei snorted.  
"I'm sure," he said sarcastically, but then became serious, "soemthing's going on." Trowa sighed.  
"You're telling me? Of course there is. There's always some conspiracy, some threat, some plot, and we always put a stop to it." Wu-fei groaned.  
"No, you idiot! They know I know there's a plot, and they're after me. I don't want to make a scene!" Trowa laughed.  
"It would be pretty hard to make a scene in this hat parade, Wu-fei. Just keep out of sight for a bit, they'll soon lose intrest." And with that, he jogged back over to Marissa and continued to conversation. Wu-fei sighed and leant against the wall. Something clattered down beside him. He looked over to see a small army knife on the floor. He kicked it under a table , but didn't dare look up. The assassin had moved away for now; he was biding his time. 


	11. It's coming!

kay, the new chapter of schooldays is very almost done. I would like to apologise for the wait, but I've been having my internal exams over the past week, and this chapter is BLOODY LONG! the new chapter of the ice princess is up. By now you should have worked out who each Gundam Pilot is. Answers in an Email!  
1)- the Ice Princess  
2)- The Obsidian Prince  
3)- The Prince of Magic/Governor of Nukhib  
4)- The Prince of Faeries/air  
5)- The Fire Prince/Prince of the Demons  
6)- The Magma Princess (ps- this is based on one of my best frineds. her true name is in the summary of one of my fics ;)  
7)- The Mountain Seer- (he does have anothername, but I ain't telling :p)  
  
and, you should know what most of their beasts are called-  
  
1) Unicorn-  
Dragon-  
  
2)- Unigon  
  
3)- Winged Horse  
  
4)- Centaur  
Dragon-   
  
5- Unigon-  
Dragon-  
  
And the others will become apparent. Ok, that was jsut to keep you on your toes. i've written half a new ktvs chapter- but i'm stuck! HEEEEEEEEEELP! Erm... the fic after schooldays, Dangerous Pastime, has eben started, but its only 2 chapter or so long. The fic after that hasn't got anme yet, but it's all about quatre, Kitty and Heero's past- it's finished! This fic after that (god I have too many ideas!) has no name, but lots of new characters, and its wel on its way. After that, there may be a fic about the backgrounds of the new characters, and there is one about the events of quatre's 21st Birthday, and what's happened 17 years down the line. So, as you cna see, plenty more eye candy on the way, so thanks to all those who have stayed with me (melissa...) and I won't those emails in!  
  
aml  
  
Tashasaphi  
and the Cat.  
  
ps- On my website, there is a picture of my cat. it's on the art page. GO AND SEE! 


	12. Chapter 11-

"You missed?" "Nice going T, we're busted now! That was a Gundam Pilot!" "Oh shut up!" T barked, pulling his cap further down over his mop of grey- blue hair, "Look, that kid hasn't got a hope in hell of catching me. I'll get him, and the rest of them, you just watch." The Elder man growled. "I've been watching all night, kiddo, and you haven't impressed me yet," he hissed. The girl laughed. "Never send a kid to do a adult's job, right sir?" she crowed. T shuddered angrily. "Down worry, Liz, I'll show you all," he growled, before turning away. "By the end of the night, you'll be eating your words." Liz smirked. "Don't count on it, boyo," she spat in reply, and then wandered off in another direction. "Now," she whispered to herself, "to find that snotty minister kid."  
  
Wu-fei was avoiding the walls, sweeping through the crowds, back and forth. If he stood still, it would be like drawing a target on his forehead and hoping for the worst. He hadn't got his katana with him. If he had, he wouldn't be nervous, but as it was, he was out of practise and out of weaponry. He spotted Quatre over by the orchestra, tuning a violin. Wu-fei dashed over. "Quatre!" he hissed breathlessly. Quatre frowned with concern. "What's wrong, Wu-fei?" he asked. Wu-fei glanced around quickly, his eyes coming into contact with the youth, eyes darkened by cap shadow, but still glimmering with malice. "We're in danger," he whispered, "there are assassins on the main balconies. I've already been attacked, who knows who they'll get next." Quatre's eyes widened in shock. "Trowa told me you were worried, but I didn't think it was this serious!" He thought for a moment. "The best thing we can do is to act natural. If they know something's up, we're finished. Find Duo, and tell him to take care of Kitty for a while, and you," he said, eyes narrowing in spite, "you keep out of her way, and mine, if you value you're neck." Quatre jabbed him hard with the violin, before turning away to continue tuning. Wu-fei growled inaudibly and looked around. He resisted the temptation to look at the assassin, but he couldn't see Duo anywhere. Usually it was hard to miss him, but tonight he was laying low. Like I should be doing, he thought. Suddenly there was a light tap on his shoulder. He started and spun around. Kitty giggled. "Hey there stranger!" she laughed, "I haven't seen you all evening!" Wu-fei swallowed hard. He hadn't yet seen what she was wearing, and now he was really in trouble. Long lilac gown with glimmering insets sweeping across it, violet stole with the same patterns and dainty silken shoes. The dress curled and swept around her frame beautifully, loosely hanging at the back, with a low cut front, revealing a mole just above her cleavage. He could feel the beads of sweat form on his forehead. Kitty laughed. "You're very quiet this evening," she commented, before laughing again, "oh, do you like my dress? Una made it for me. Isn't it lovely?" She flicked her deadly gaze up to his suit. "That embroidery is lovely! Did you do it yourself?" she broke into giggles again, "I suppose all these formal 'do's are more about fabric and material wealth than the person within the clothes, right?" Wu-fei swallowed hard. "I. suppose so," he choked. Kitty placed a hand on his arm. "Are you alright?" she asked, Wu-fei unable to tell whether or not her concern was sincere, "you seem very, oh I don't know, tight this evening." Wu-fei swallowed again, eyes darting around the room. "I have got to find Duo," he blurted. Kitty frowned. "Aren't you playing Mister-Hard-to-Get this evening!" she said forcefully, "why can't you just stay with me for one little dance, huh?" Wu-fei made a sort of squeaking noise, aware of two cerulean eyes, which were boring into his back. "No, really, I have to go and find Duo. He'll dance with you. I've, er, twisted my ankle." Wu-fei mentally hit himself. "You were walking fine earlier," she protested, pulling a very childish pouty face, "don't you want to dance with me?" Wu-fei squeaked again. "No! Of course not! It's just that. err." he spun around, looking for a diversion, "hey, isn't Quatre playing now?" Kitty clapped. "Oh yes, so he is! Oh he's simply marvellous at the violin, you'll really enjoy his piece, Wu-fei," Kitty turned to where Wu-fei had been, "Wu-fei?" He was gone. She narrowed her gaze. "Don't worry, Mister Chang, I'll have you on the dance floor by the end of the night, don't worry."  
  
"DUO!!!" Wu-fei shrieked as he ran around the first floor corridors, spooking several of the minister's children, necking in the alcoves. "Wha?" Duo exclaimed, looking up from his nap. Wu-fei smacked him over the head. "This is no time to be sleeping!" he bellowed. Duo winced. "Sorry, kay? I didn't have a nap today, and I'm really tired!" Wu-fei's face blanched. "Nap?" he stammered, before breaking out in uncontrollable giggles. Duo's face turned a rather fetching shade of maroon. "Don't diss until you've tried it, Fei!" he protested, be reconfiguring his colouration. Wu-fei sighed. "You have got to keep Kitty occupied," he stated simply. Duo frowned. "Why?" he asked, and then grinned, "Quatre getting on your case again, eh? I told you to stay away, but would you listen?" "I haven't been anywhere near her!" Wu-fei bellowed, causing Duo to sit back to violently that he chair tipped over backwards, "at least, not intentionally. Not that it would matter, because there would be nothing to worry about, anyway." Duo snorted. Wu-fei kicked him sharply. "Owtsies!" Duo complained, getting to his feet, "Ok, Ok, you win! Where is she?" Wu-fei swallowed hard. "In the ballroom, with the assassins." "Assassins!" Duo screeched. Wu-fei groaned. "God, does no one have eyes in their face tonight? Jesus!" Duo laughed shyly. "That bad, huh?" he asked. Wu-fei nodded. "There's a group of about three of them. I'm gonna try and find out what they're planning, but Quatre asked me to get you to keep an eye on Kitty for him. Trowa is extracting information from random orchestra members, apparently, who all seem to be very attractive females," Duo snickered, "and I haven't seen Heero since we got here." "Someone say my name?" came the familiar voice. "Speak of the devil." Wu-fei sighed as Heero came and stood behind him. "No need to be mean, Chang," Heero said quietly. Duo grinned. "When'd you get a sense of humour?" he asked. Heero shrugged. He turned to Wu-fei. "The guy who dropped the knife on you, he goes by the name of T. there are three of them- the leader, a woman called 'Liz', and this T fellow. T's the one we've been worrying about, but Liz has got bigger plans. I think she's carrying a detonator." "You don't think she'll blow up the conference hall, do you?" Duo cut in. Wu-fei shrugged. "These people are pretty desperate if they think destroying a hall full of diplomats is going to anything towards power shifts. It'll just bring on another useless war, and once again those we care about and the loved ones of others will be swept away with the river of blood." Duo sighed, after a pause. "Deep, man, deep." he whispered. Heero tutted. "Deep but true. We can't risk the lives of these innocent people. We'll have to try and stop the assassins before they do too much damage, and if needs be, evacuate. Wu-fei, come with me. Duo, you go get Kitty out of the way and alert Trowa to the plan. I'm gonna need his help. When Quatre's done fiddling about with that infernal Violin of his," Wu-fei sniggered, "get him out of there too. I know he can take care of himself, but who knows, he could be planted with an explosive for all we know, and he is a target. Got that?" Duo nodded. Heero turned and jogged off down the corridor, Wu-fei in tow. Wu-fei cast a glance over his shoulder at Duo, before disappearing around a corner. Duo smiled. "Don't worry, buddy," he whispered, "I'll make sure she's alright."  
  
Duo ran down the steps towards the main hall. He could hear Quatre's performance from here, and the entire audience was silent with wonder. A familiar figure stood at the base of the stairs. "Hey Trowa," Duo sighed, slightly out of breath. Trowa nodded. "The orchestra know nothing," he said plainly, "so I thought I go and join up with Heero and see what he's got planned." Duo nodded. "Heero and Wu-fei are going to head off one of assassins. Maybe you should go after those on the balcony." Trowa nodded. "Does Heero have his link-up on?" he asked. Duo nodded. "Good. And what are you gonna do while we practise heroics?" Duo grinned. "I get to save the girl," he said, winking cheekily, "and of course, pass on info to Quatre." Trowa walked past Duo onto the stairs. "We'll contact you on the link-up and arrange the final departure time," he called as he broke into a jog up the steps. Duo nodded and made his way into the main hall.  
  
Duo entered the main hall with the dying notes of the violin. Quatre drew the bow across the instrument one last time, the sweet tremolo note silencing all, and just as it ended the loud clapping on Duo's shoes on the floor interrupted. Two hundred pairs of eyes glared at Duo. "Geez, sorry!" he exclaimed. The audience turned back to Quatre and applauded him. He made a polite bow before replacing the violin in its stand, and trotting over to Duo. "I sent Wu-fei after you ages ago!" he laughed, "Where have you been?" Duo sighed. "Look, I need to talk to you, so can we go somewhere. ya know, more discreet?" Quatre frowned. "Alright, but it had better be important." The pair walked briskly out of the main hall and into one of the storerooms. Duo hopped up onto an unfolded table and waited for Quatre to lock the door. Quatre turned to face his friend and sighed. "If this is about assassins, I've been informed," he said sharply. Duo frowned. Quatre was enjoying himself way too much. Telling Kitty he was going obviously wasn't in his plans. "Trowa, Wu-fei and Heero have gone after them," he explained, "but Heero wants you to evacuate the building." "What?" Quatre exclaimed, "Why?" Duo rolled his eyes. "One of the assassins is carrying a detonator. Explosives could be planted all around the building. Heck, the invites could all be planted! We need to get everyone out, and fast." Quatre snorted. "That's ridiculous!" he said bluntly, "you expect me to stand up in front of that hall of distinguished guests and tell them to proceed to all exits in a calm manner because they are all explosives? Are you all crazy? I can't do that!" Duo growled. "Oh, so you'd rather sacrifice the lives of hundreds of diplomats and politicians, those fighting to maintain the peace of our worlds, for your damn pride? Grow up Quatre!" Quatre glared at Duo. "Heero and the others are perfectly capable of shutting down the operation without us having to resort to panicking the guests, and don't you get all high and mighty with me! You have no idea what I have been through over the years, trying to maintain a level of influential status. This next stunt we're about to pull could quash my chances of being elected Deputy Minister for the Colonies next autumn! I am already putting a lot on the line for this, Duo; I don't think you can ask a lot more of me." Duo leapt of the desk. "You selfish little brat!" he hissed, "If I knew these were your true colours, you wouldn't have bee invited on this mission." "Oh, and you would make that decision, would you?" Quatre spat back, an angry pink tone flooding his pale cheeks, "If you don't like my choices, then fine. I'm open to criticism, I get it everyday. But don't you ever start thinking that you could ever stop me from doing what was necessary, got that?" Duo shook his head and unlocked the door. "Just evacuate the fucking building, that's all we're asking," he sighed, "we're not asking you to save the world single handedly or anything, geez!" Quatre's flush faded a little as he watched Duo leave the room. "Oh, and one more thing," said Duo's voice from down the corridor, "are you even planning to tell Kitty what's going on?" Quatre groaned. He had been so swept up in the delegations and conversations, he'd completely forgotten to take Kitty aside and tell her. There simply wasn't time now. He sighed. Maybe the others were right. Maybe he should try and evacuate the building.  
  
Kitty swirled her drink with the little novelty umbrella and sighed. She was all alone, wasting this perfect opportunity to show off her dress, and she didn't like it one bit. Someone sat down opposite her. "Hey," he said cheerily, "how's things?" Kitty looked up and smiled. Duo casually tossed his braid over his shoulder. "I'm fine, thank you," she replied, brushing her long fringe out of her eyes, "just a little bored." Duo grinned. "I can help you out with that," he suggested, "wanna dance?" Kitty beamed. "You wouldn't believe it, but that's what I've been waiting all night to do. Let's see if that grace in gym class has rubbed off any on your dancing skills!" Duo and Kitty joined hands and walked confidently out onto the floor, Duo casting his gaze occasionally towards the door, where a sullen figure leant against the wall, head bowed and blonde fringe cascading over his face as he stood in deep thought.  
  
Kitty slumped down into her seat, giggling hysterically. Several of the more distinguished guests glared at her and Duo as they sniggered into their drinks. "You are a disaster!" Kitty finally blurted. Duo laughed. "Hey, maybe if Daddy had paid for me to have dancing lessons I'd be a bit better at it!" he protested. Kitty thumped the table and tears of laughter poured down her cheeks. Duo sighed. The thoughts of the plan filled his mind once more. Quatre should be giving the evacuation order any minute and the others would handle the assassins. Then he'd get Kitty out, and head off to the aircraft carrier and come back to pick up the other pilots. However, the plan was failing miserably. They'd never factored in these assassins to begin with, and now Quatre wasn't cooperating. Duo sympathised with him- he had a lot on his mind, but if he had just told Kitty, this problem could have been avoided. Duo, being a man of complete honesty, had never kept a thing from anyone, even if it meant he got beaten down for it. Quatre, a man of tact, had to use his wit, and his heart to make the decisions of what to keep, and what to reveal, and right now he was shutting himself in an invisible box. Kitty frowned. "God, you guys are acting so weird this evening!" she sighed, "first Heero lashes out at me." "He hit you?!" Duo exclaimed in horror. Several sets of eyes glared, or stared in horror at the pair. "No." Kitty began, a deep blush flooding her cheeks, "he just twisted my arm, something about the hatch on my jet." She drew back her long lilac glove to reveal deep bruising around her slender wrist. Duo shuddered. "I see," he said quietly. Kitty covered up her arm again, and placing her other hand over her injured wrist protectively. "But that's not all," she whispered, leaning a little across the table, "Quatre has been a little up tight and quiet with me. not to mention poor Wu-fei. Speaking of Wu-fei, he's been avoiding me like I was a plague or something, and now you keep going off into strange daydreams, which aren't happy ones like your usual fantasies about ice cream by those looks on you face. I can't say I've noticed much of a change in Trowa, but I don't know him that well. He's only a teaching assistant, though I don't know why, considering he's already got a job in the circus, but he seems to be quite good friends with you. am I blathering?" Duo laughed. "Definitely," he grinned, "but keep doing it, it's interesting." Kitty blushed a little. "Well, all I really want to know is if you can shed some light on this sudden case of mutual PMS you've all got." Duo snorted into his drink again, startling a near by couple. Kitty bit her lip. Duo calmed himself. "Sorry," he stammered, "but I can't really. erm. oh geez!" Kitty's deep blue eyes implored him, their beautiful depths begging for the truth. Duo got up and walked away. "Just ask Quatre. I. I can't tell you!" Duo quickened his pace, and within moments vanished. Kitty stared after him, neck strained to try and follow him, but even she knew that this deep secret was so locked within even Duo's mind that he couldn't tell her. She looked away and smiled. "Who would have thought it?" she whispered to herself, "the bane of my existence becoming one of my best friends. I could get used to that." She raised her gaze once more, catching the eyes of her brother. Quatre stared longingly at her from the other side of the hall for a moment, before being bombarded with teenage admirers wanting to dance. Kitty sighed. She had to get him on his own! She had to know what was wrong! 


	13. Chapter 12

"01, 01, its 03 calling, over" "03, we are receiving. What's the news, over" "I have a female in sight, carrying a large bag and some sort of small device, over" "05 here, can you identify the device, over" "Receiving 05, it's a detonation switch, over" Heero paused, taking in the information. They were going to blow up the conference hall, the bastards, and ruin the peace process. "03, what is your position, over" ". West internal balcony, third entrance. I'm concealed by the pillars, over" "01 confirming 03's position. Confirm the assassin position, over" "05 confirming position, she's on the north side, above the stage, over" "05 confirm position, over" "South side, first entrance on ground floor. Hey, isn't Duo supposed to be guarding Kitty?" "You're supposed to say over, over" "Sorry, over" "That's better," Trowa joked, "01, conform position, over" "I'll be at the east side in two minutes. 05, find 02 and get him back to work, over" "Yeah, and find out what 04 is playing at. The guests aren't even on guard, over" Wu-fei groaned and turned his back on the balcony. "05 signing off whilst going into civilian territory, over and out" Wu-fei said to himself and flicked the switch under his shirt. He jogged down the corridor back towards the hall. As he turned the corner towards the stairs, a young figure stepped out behind him. He tossed his thick silvery fringe off his forehead and clutched his blade tightly. "Chang," he hissed, "you're mine." Silent footsteps echoed behind the light pads of Wu-fei's sandals on the wooden floor.  
  
Thud. Thud. Thud. Duo hit his head hard against the wall whilst silently reciting the Lord's Prayer. He felt a sudden sharp tap on the shoulder and turned quickly. He reeled backwards, his vision double and shook himself back to his senses. "Just the guy I was looking for!" he slurred. Wu-fei grabbed the collar of his shirt and began dragging him back towards the door of the hall. "One, you left Kitty all alone when there are assassins around," he spat in Duo's ear, "and two, why hasn't Quatre started the evacuation yet?" Duo blinked dumbly at Wu-fei and smiled sheepishly. Wu-fei growled and knocked Duo's head against the wall, still clutching his shirt. "Answer me!" Wu-fei barked, startling some guests who were milling around in the cool corridor. Duo squealed. "Kay, Ok!" he protested, and then sighed, "Quatre's being a prick, and Kitty's getting curious! You know I can't keep secrets!" Wu-fei groaned. "Fine," he said in exasperation, "since you are so utterly incompetent, I will go and get Kitty out of the way. I want you to get Quatre to start the evacuation, and then to go help Heero. Make sure Quatre gets out of the building, and if you can, check on Miss Relena. Once you're ready to help, turn on your link up and say, "02 reporting" and explain why you are helping instead of me. Got that?" Duo frowned. "You save the D.I.D, Quatre evacuates, I help Heero?" Wu-fei groaned. "That'll do. Now, get to it. If you have any problems with Quatre, kick him." Duo sniggered and jogged into the ballroom. Wu-fei groaned. Now he'd have to face Kitty, and this time he couldn't back out.  
  
"Do it!" "No!" "Do it!" "Duo, I said no!" "Quatre go boom if he no do it! Do iiiiiiiiiit!" "Will you bloody well shut up if I do it?" ". maybe." "Promise me you will shut your trap and I'll do it, Duo." ". kay." "Say you promise." "You promise." "Duo!" Quatre growled. Duo sniggered at himself. "I promise, OK?" he sighed. Quatre nodded. "Good," he said, straightening out his suit as they stood in the corner. His fan club had desisted when Duo had turned up, prancing about like a drunkard. Quatre sighed heavy, puffed out his chest, and marched into the hall to the stage, where he stood by the steps, choosing his words. Duo frowned. "He'd better do it," he hissed to himself. He stood up on tiptoes and craned his neck. Relena was just walking out of the hall towards the stairway. "Ok, so she lives," Duo mumbled, ticking off his jobs in his head. He walked out of the hall and flicked the switch. "02 reporting for duty" he said clearly. There was no reply. After a few muffled noises, a familiar voice said "02, you're supposed to say over, over" Duo laughed. "Hey 03, I was starting to worry! Where's 01, over" "He'll make contact in a minute. He's planning out are attack on the bomb carrier. Did 05 give you your instructions, over" "Yeah. oops, over" "Then why aren't they evacuating, over" "04's by the stage right now. He's got a little stage fright, that's all, over" "We don't need stage fright," a familiar cold voice said, "we need an evacuation, over" "Nice of your to join us, 01, over" Duo chirped.  
  
"Where's 05, over"  
  
"Oh fine, don't welcome your old buddy! He's taking care of Kits. I couldn't handle the job, over" "So basically he wanted to baby-sit his crush, over" Trowa joked. Heero snorted.  
  
"Are all the jobs done, 02, over"  
  
"Of course they are! What do you take me for, over" "An American jackass, over" "Hey! Now that was just cold, 03, over" "Can we stop kidding about?" Heero hissed, "02, make your way to internal balcony entrance on the east side. Use the entrance closest to the north side. You're gonna be our decoy, over" "Whaddya mean decoy?" Duo squealed. "I get it," Trowa mused, "02, you enter through the north east entrance, and go to the balcony, watch what's going on. Keep the suspect occupied while 01 and I move in, over" Duo cursed under his breath. "Fine, I'll do it, but if I get bombed, shot or otherwise murdered in your absence, I'm gonna haunt you both! 02 over and out."  
  
Kitty stood up from her padded seat as she watched Quatre climb up on to the stage. He clinked a ring on his finger against a glass. The entire hall froze and turned in his direction. Quatre swallowed hard. He glanced over to where Kitty was standing, her pale face taught with worry. She could sense something was wrong. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he said clearly, "it is my most sorry duty to ask you all to kindly exit the building." "What on earth?" Kitty whispered to herself as wails of fright erupted from the floor. "What's going on, Minister Winner?" a chorus asked. Quatre lifted his head a little. "There is a bomb scare on the building. I would like you all to stay very calm and file out of the building in an orderly manner." The main door of the hall burst open and a heavy-set figure stomped in. He drew a handgun from his pocket. "You've ruined everything, Winner," he barked. The crowd screamed and plunged out through the doors. Quatre froze on the stage, his hand twitching as it edged towards his gun holster. The man laughed. "You wouldn't dare," he spat, and twitched his gun angle. A young man snatched up Kitty round the neck, holding a gun to her head and she writhed. Quatre's face blanched. "Kitty!" he cried. He quickly withdrew his gun and aimed it at the larger man. "You dare do anything to her, and I'll." he began. "You do anything to me, Winner, and the pretty girl gets it," the man sneered. Kitty yelped and the boy clutched her throat tighter. Quatre growled deep in his throat. There was a sudden flash of white near Kitty and the boy let her go, drawing a long blade and lashing out with it. Kitty toppled forward and scrambled to her feet. She discarded her shoes and dived under a table, cowering. "Help!" she screamed. Quatre looked up. The man had gone, but the younger figure was still there, knife twitching in his grasp as he and another figure circled. It was Wu-fei, now slightly bent with the pain of a deep gash to his side. Quatre dashed towards Kitty. The youth's spare hand flew up, loading his handgun and fixing it on Quatre. "Move again, Winner, and I'll kill you," the young man growled. He turned his gaze back to Wu-fei and grinned. "I may have missed once, Chang, but I've got you this time," he smirked coldly. Wu-fei muttered in Chinese under his breath, obsidian eyes linked with the boy's. "Oh trust me, my friend," Wu-fei hissed, "you haven't even come close to getting me yet." There was a loud crack of gunshot and the youth yelped. He collapsed to the floor writhing in agony. Quatre lowered his gun and leapt off the stage. "Let's get out of here!" he yelled, as he ran towards the table where Kitty was hiding. He looked up to see Kitty free from the confines of the furnishing, facing him with eyes wide in fear. "Kitty, thank Allah your alright," he sighed. He took a step forward. Kitty squealed and hopped backwards. Quatre frowned. "Kitty, what's wrong?" he asked gently. Kitty's eyes flashed varying tones of lively blue green. She backed away, shaking her head in shock, before bolting into the corridors. Quatre stood in shock. She had read him. She had seen him shoot a man. She knew he was a killer. He was barely aware of Wu-fei dash past him, splattering his powder blue suit with red blood. He didn't notice the yells and cries from above. He merely hung his head and ran from the building, his golden fringe hiding the tears of shame as he went.  
  
"What the." the female figure cried as a strong arm looped about her neck and dragged her backwards. Another hand flew to her face, covering it with a cloth. A sickly smell filled her lungs as she writhed and choked, but soon her body fell limp. "Primitive," Trowa mused a she watched Heero drop the limp woman, "but effective." The screams erupted below following Quatre's announcement. "Finally," Duo hissed, turning his back on the balcony and rolling his eyes. Heero ripped open the bag. 09.56 "Shit," he hissed, looking over the bomb construction, "there's an anti defusing device." Trowa crouched down at his side. "We can sort that out, right?" he asked, and then looked at the timer. "We don't have time," Heero said quickly, standing up and walking back over to the woman, "the only casualties we can afford in this explosion are ourselves. We have to check the entire building and get the dignitaries out by any means necessary." A gunshot rang out below, followed by a yell of pain. Duo cringed. "Jeez," he hissed between his teeth before jogging over to Heero and Trowa. Heero drew a black object from out of the woman's hand. It was indeed a detonation device. "What's the point of having this if there's a timer?" Duo asked, peering into Heero's hands. Trowa shrugged. "Just in case we over came the anti-tampering systems, I guess," he said gently. Heero shook his head. "This detonation switch is for a B-grade spread explosive, manufactured in Spain on earth. That bomb there is a double A grade bomb, containing double the fire power of the destructive A grade explosive. It was manufactured in space. That B-grade explosive is a spread explosive. It can be attached to bags of nails and shards of abrasive material. The bomb this detonator is for could be spread all around the building." "Well," said Duo, after a long pause, "at least we can be sure that only one bomb is gonna explode." Trowa shook his head. "B grade bombs are very sensitive. The explosion of this bomb would set off a chain reaction in the B bombs. Speaking of bombs, we've got 8 minutes 50 seconds to check the building." Heero nodded. "I'll check the north side, Trowa, you take the east and Duo, the south. Someone contact Wu-fei, get him to check the west. If not Wu-fei, then get Quatre. Ok?" Duo and Trowa nodded and after a brief pause ran off in their designated directions. Heero pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around the woman's shoulders. He then lifted her over one shoulder, and with his free hand picked up the bag. He looked to his hand around the unconscious woman's legs and noted that that was where the detonator was. He nodded and turned to jog away. A heavy fist flew into his face, starling him so much that he dropped both the woman and the bag, but not the detonator. Heero growled as he eyed his attacker carefully. The heavy-set man looked distraught. "You've ruined everything," he spat, "those ambassadors were supposed to die tonight!" Heero frowned. "Why? Why cause the world any more pain than it has suffered already? That's where you're from isn't it? Earth? Think about all those ambassadors with families on your planet. Do you want to cause them pain? Again?" The man yelled and threw himself at Heero. The duelling pair rolled across the floor until they knocked against the banister. The man sat on Heero's legs, clutching his throat. He felt the tender young muscles move below his grasp. He cried out and knocked Heero's head hard against the floor. "You don't understand!" he cried as he repeatedly flung Heero's head against the floor, "we are doing this for the colonies and earth! The colonies need strong leadership! That is what we can offer! This united government was full of useless bureaucrats who could do nothing more than sip tea and spend out money. Our organisation decided the best way to save our worlds from a new war was to destroy those vain enough to come to lavish ball with no actual political meaning, and let those left behind be in charge of running out world." Heero's own grip aound the man's throat grew tighter. "Well that was a pretty crap plan, dontcha think?" he said lightly, "the people would have been outraged at the murder of such influential people and would have risen to war once again. And then your sorry organisation would have looked to the gundam pilots for help once more, wouldn't you?" The Man flung his fist into Heero's cheek bone and the pair rolled away once more, breaking apart and leaping to their feet. "The gundam pilots are no better than those who attended this evening," the man said viciously, "they believe they can lay down their swords and relax now they've finished one battle. Well too bad! The new war has started, Yuy, and it wouldn't have even set its foundations if you pilots had acted like true knights of peace and stayed alert. From what I've heard, you went back to school. Am I right?" Heero growled. "I have been on guard since I can ever remember," he hissed, "I was trained to do this. To fight! To be a terrorist! To do what you do! And guess what? I got sick and tired of hurting people and began to realize the truth. It is time we all laid down our weapons and let other people in. If that happened, there would be no need for the preventers, or for us, and this foolish little exercise of yours would never have happened." The man laughed. "Has little Miss Peacecraft gotten to you too, Yuy? I thought you were better than that. She got to the Winner family. I used to respect them! But little Quatre Ra-bastard Winner turned away from his senses and joined her little band of merry men and now I see she's infected all of the gundam pilots, too. Pity. I was hoping I wouldn't have to destroy ever one of you, but I guess that is just how it's gonna have to be." The man dived at Heero, snatching his wrist and trying to fling him over. Heero's fingers gave way at the pressure, but he held his ground and threw a balled fist into the square jaw, knocking the man to the floor. Heero stepped backwards, panting heavily. He was out of shape. He flexed his sore wrist. The man sat up and wiped the blood off his lip. He laughed and looked over to the bomb timer. 05:10 "I think it's time for you to go, Yuy," he said cruelly. Heero's eyes flicked to the timer and he growled. He dashed over to the woman, throwing her over his shoulder and bolting towards the north exit. After a few seconds something clicked in Heero's head. He wasn't carrying the duffel bag. His spare hand was empty. Heero quickly ran back down the corridor to the view of an empty balcony. "Shit," he hissed, and sprinted away again, the thoughts of the man planting that explosive and getting away with it flooding his vision with red. 


	14. Chapter 13

Kitty stumbled up the stairs, gasping from the exertion. Her feet were sore from wearing the high heels for so long and her sides ached with the gasping breaths. She collapsed in the echoey corridor, sobbing heavily. She drew herself up into a ball, sinking her teeth into her arm to try and stem the heavy sobs. He had lied to her. "Oh, and one more thing, are you even planning to tell Kitty what's going on?" No. Kitty moaned again as the images flashed through her fragile mind. "Outer space has gone crazy; I have no choice but to destroy it all!" "No," she whispered, "don't do it." "The five of us have become nothing more than redundant soldiers, Quatre. Now, let's accept it, turn back into the nice guy I once knew." "No!" Kitty screamed, the cold heartless images flooding her brain and body with the agony of betrayal and murder. "Kitty?" a far off voice called. "That's funny. it seems I have tears in my eyes. but I'm not one bit sad." "Stop saying that!" Kitty screamed, covering her ears and rocking to and fro, "you cold heartless beast! How could you?" Kitty was aware of someone grabbing her and pulling her close. Then it hit her. A dull thudding began deep within her as the rushing images clarified. "F.Father?" she stammered. There he was. He was looking right at her. The thudding stopped. Kitty's eyes widened. "No." she whispered. There was a huge explosion, but she heard none of it, she just saw that sad face vanish, and the warmth die all over again. "Father!" she screamed, craning her neck backward in a sorrowful wail. She felt a sudden pressure on the back of her neck, pulling her head forwards and resting it against a silk clad shoulder. "Stop that," a harsh yet calm voice said, "stop that caterwauling this instant!" Kitty blinked frequently, the whiling green disappearing from her eyes. Kitty drew back a little, but was pushed forcefully back against Wu- fei's shoulder. "No," the comforting yet firm voice barked, "you're going to stay there a little longer, until you've calmed down a little." Wu-fei looked at his watch. 08:00 Kitty sniffed gently as she huddled against Wu-fei. "Nataku," she whispered, her eyes flashing an eerie green once more. Wu-fei grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Stop it!" he said, fear and worry plastered across his paling olive face. "Stop behaving like a mad woman, it isn't proper ladylike behaviour. Stop it!" Kitty bit her lip hard as she was shaken, stemming the cries and moans escaping her lips. The images would not fade. She felt as though she would never be calm again. The violent movement of her body halted, and her vision cleared. Although the cruel voices and occurrences still burned in the back of her mind, she could now see that she was sat upon the floor, her legs bent up to one side of her and her arms pinned to her side by a set of strong hands, belonging to a young man she knew very well. Wu-fei lightened his grasp. "There now," he said quietly, "that's better." he was cut off by Kitty flinging her arms round his neck. "Oh Wu-fei!" she cried, "It was so frightening! I was all alone, and I didn't know what to do! How on earth did you find me?" Wu-fei smiled as he felt the soft cheek move against his neck as she spoke. "I heard you wailing a mile off," he said quietly, and then glanced at his watch. 07:02 Kitty smiled weakly, and then glanced up at Wu-fei. "Did he really pull that trigger, Wu-fei?" she whispered, her great blue- black eyes imploring him to deny it. ".Yes," Wu-fei said heavily, "but if he hadn't, I don't know if we would have been able to escape." Kitty shook her head. "That doesn't make any difference," she said meekly, "my brother is a murderer and liar, and there is nothing in this universe that he could do to ever change that. I am a brave woman, Wu-fei, I am not afraid to die. If I had died, and Quatre was still innocent in my eyes then I would have died a happy woman. But I didn't die. And Quatre proved himself to me. He had never told me before what his role in the war was, except that he had been friends with the Gundam Pilots, who I knew nothing about, and that." she paused, "that father had died. That is all I knew. But now I know everything. I have seen everything he has, and I wish it were not true with my very being." Wu-fei shook his head. "Quatre is a good man, Kitty," he whispered, tilting her chin up with a soft caress, "you must believe that. I know he is, and I have fought beside him. He despises the taking of life. you know that, and he never did it unless it was necessary. Anyone else would have just blasted their way through to their goals, but Quatre used his head, and his heart. He cares about you very much Kitty, like." W-fei broke off and looked away. He stood up, leaving Kitty on the floor. Kitty frowned up at him, her blue eyes glittering like moonlit water. What did Quatre tell you, Chang, he said to himself; he'll kill you if he finds you here! This is wrong, and you know it! This is going against everything you've ever been taught about respecting other people! Oh god... I can't help it! Look at her! Look what she's doing... she's purposely enticing me! Goddammit! "Are you Ok?" Kitty asked gently, placing a hand on his arm as she stood up. Wu-fei shuddered and snapped out of his dream. He looked away from Kitty. He couldn't risk seeing those eyes again. "Not really," he whispered. Kitty's grip on his arm increased, making him shiver. "Please," she urged, "tell me what's wrong." Wu-fei slowly turned his head again. Kitty was blinking up at him, worry painted on her face. "I don't think it's my place," he finally said. "Tell me," she whispered softly. 05:59 Wu-fei sighed again. "I... I have to leave," he blurted out. Kitty gasped. "Leave!" she squealed, "but... why? Where are you going?" Wu-fei turned his face away again. He had to make something up! "I'm... joining my Uncle's Dojo," he stammered, "as an instructor. I'm quite good at the martial arts, I'm told." He almost kicked himself for sounding like such a prick. Kitty snorted. "I'll show you what good at Martial arts is if you dare leave me, Chang," she spat. Wu-fei turned in shock at the sudden outburst. "I beg your pardon?" he laughed. Kitty glared at him viciously. "Fei, you are one of my best friends, and I know you think of me as more than that," Wu-fei almost had a nosebleed, "and maybe so do I. You've always been caring and charming to me, whereas many others haven't. They've only pretended to care when something they wanted was involved. You actually care, and that's what I need. So," she thumped her hand with a balled fist, emphasising her words, "if you think you are going to walk out on me to become some wrinkly old guy who sits around all say smoking pot and whispering 'Grasshopper says' you are sorely mistaken!" Wu-fei could feel his cheeks going pink. "One," he sighed, "don't insult my culture, and two," he almost choked on the words, "I'm not staying, not for anything you could say. I HAVE to go. There's no two ways about it." Kitty's eyes began to well up, making Wu- fei's heart protest at him. "Wu-fei," she said quietly, "you're breaking my heart." Kitty turned away from him and began to walk away, head bowed slightly. What happened next remained as a blur in Wu-fei's memory. He didn't really understand what happened, but before he knew it, he had spun Kitty round, taken her in his arms and pressed his lips against her own. Kitty's eyes flew open in shock, but she did not resist the gesture. Delicate, pale arms enveloped the boy's neck as the kiss grew more passionate. Suddenly Wu-fei snapped back to reality and broke away, face mere millimetres from hers, yet that distance was clear. Kitty sighed heavily, her warm breath tingling against Wu-fei's lips. "Why did you do that?" she asked quietly. Wu-fei smiled. "Because it's what I've dreamed about for the past four months, and I won't get another chance to do it." Kitty laughed and leant back into a second kiss, this time briefer and sweeter than before. Finally the pair broke apart, smiling shyly at each other, blushes clear on both pale and tanned skin. Wu-fei gasped and looked at his watch. 3:32 "Shit!" he hissed and stumbled back. Kitty frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked gently. Wu-fei swallowed hard, catching one final tender glimpse of the girl, before turning away. "Kitty, get out of the building!" he cried as he ran, "I have to check for any remaining guests!" Kitty jogged forward. "But Wu-fei." she began. "RUN!" came the desperate cry as the boy disappeared form view. Kitty sighed and pressed her fingers to her lips. "Thank you," she whispered, before running away towards the nearest exit.  
  
"Fucking hell!" Duo exclaimed as he ran down the corridor. A few passing diplomats glared at him. "Get out of the building!" he bellowed, "NOW!" The startled guests picked up their skirts and ran. Duo glanced at his watch as he sprinted. 04:38 "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" Duo cried as he carried on running. This was the final stretch of his check, and then he could get out of here. He pulled a cardkey from his pocket. He had pinched it from Kitty when they were dancing. Yes, he knew that was low, but he had to have get away jet. He couldn't just walk up to the aircraft carrier and yell "Hey, I'm ready for my gundam now!" There were civilians around! Heero jogged out of an archway, smacking straight into Duo. The pair wiped each other out and law sprawled on the floor for a while. Duo eased himself up, groaning in pain. Heero growled and struck Duo hard over the head. Duo squealed. "Sorry sorry sorry!" he screeched, "but, hey, maybe this clash was fated, coz we're up shit creek!" Heero frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked. Duo sighed, rubbing his head. "Well, I'll try to tell you, but I think I'm getting amnesia from that bloody concussion you just gave me!" "Don't screw with me Duo, I'm really not in the mood," Heero threatened. Duo groaned. "Look, have you heard from either Trowa or Wu-fei?" "No." "Exactly!" Duo cried, "we dunno if they've completed their check or where they are. And does any one have a clue where angel-boys got to?" Heero smirked, "If you're talking about Quatre, I'm sure he's outside calming the dignitaries." "Yeah," Duo hissed, "Quatre and his blessed crowd." Duo suddenly stared at heero. "Hey Heero," he said lightly. "Yeah?" "Where did ya dump the bomb?" "I didn't dump the bomb." "WHAT!" "Some guy took it from me, and the detonator. The female is out in the gardens." Duo groaned. "Great, so we have absolutely no chance of stopping the bombs going off?" "Not really." Duo sighed and checked his watch. 01:59 Duo screamed. "We gotta go, we gotta go!" Heero grabbed Duo's arm and checked the watch. "The nearest exit is this way. Come on!" The pair ran off. "What about Trowa and Wu-fei?" Duo asked. "Someone say my name?" a voice said behind Duo's ear. Duo laughed. "You're supposed to say over, over," he said with a grin. Trowa laughed. "Look, I'm outside right now and Wu-fei's here too. We've both finished out checks and we're making our way to the carrier, over." "Good," Heero said calmly as he flung open the fire exit and fled from the building with Duo in tow, "Have you seen Quatre?" There was a pause. "Rashid just turned up with Abdul and Auda, but they look just as confused as the other dignitaries. He's. vanished!" "You're supposed. what dya mean vanished?" Duo screeched as he and Heero vaulted the back garden wall. "Is Relena out alright?" Heero asked. "Oh trust you!" Duo groaned. "Be quiet!" Heero barked as they ran. "Affirmative. She's back with the first wave of evacuees." "Are they all suitably well back?" "Affirmative, Heero, and you've got 30 seconds till the first bomb goes off." There was a huge blast of energy and light and Heero and Duo were thrown forwards. The sound hit them soon after. Boom. A great, thudding, earthshaking noise erupted which penetrated their very souls. "How the fuck did that happen?" Duo yelled. Heero heard a gun load nearby and look up. There stood the heavyset man with the exhausted the detonator. "Long live earth," he whispered, before pulling the trigger. He fell to the floor, his eyes blank and lifeless. Heero growled. "Are all accounted for, Trowa?" he asked. "How the heck did that happen?" Wu-fei bellowed. "Detonator. Some guy had it. Look, at least everyone's alright. How's the building looking to you guys?" Trowa tutted at the end of the line. "Complete wreck," he hissed, "it's still standing, just about, but there's no salvage job for this one." Heero nodded. "I see," he said quietly and got to his feet, helping Duo up too, "proceed to the carrier. Now we can make our escape." "Roger that," two voices chorused, "over and out."  
  
The patter of small feet echoed as she ran down the corridor. It had been almost two minutes, and now she was hopelessly lost. Kitty sighed as she glanced around. How much time did she have left? Where were the others? Kitty picked up her pace again as she headed west. She knew the main entrance was to the west, and she knew she was on the ground floor. Her legs were beginning to ache, and although there was no weight upon it, her wrist hurt form the deep bruising as from leaning on it so much when she fell upstairs. But she didn't want to think about. She had to focus on getting out. She had to find the others. If Wu-fei was leaving, maybe the others were too. She knew Wu-fei had lied about the Dojo, and she had seen that Gundam on the lawn of her house. And now she had seen all of what Quatre had hidden from her after she had awoken. Maybe they were going to war again. Maybe this bomb scare was really a terrorist attack on the building. And she was all alone, lost in its catacombs. Alone that is, except for the little explosive devices. She knew where they were. They had been posted all around the building, on almost every corner of every room and corridor, covered with bunches of lilies and such. It was a stupid place to hide them. They were in such an obvious place. However, that didn't matter now. She couldn't do anything about them. This building was a death trap that she had to get out of, and fast.  
  
The vast main hall opened up before her. Kitty sighed happily. It was such a welcoming sight to know where she was. However, this happy place was tainted with blood. There were droops and flashes where Wu-fei had been gashed. Now that she thought about it, it must have hurt him greatly to have to shake her upstairs. And to hold her tightly. no! She had to concentrate. There was a small pool of the disgusting red stuff on the floor, followed by smatters and smears going back the way she had come. The boy wasn't dead. He had gotten up and run away! What if he was still in the building? No, he wasn't that stupid. He knew the building was going to blow up; he was responsible for it, after all. Kitty ran over to where she had left her shoes and slipped them onto her dainty feet, before trotting up the stairs. She pulled open the heavy doors and trotted into the entrance hall. It was strange to see such a welcoming place so empty and drab now that the brightly coloured dresses and suits had gone. Kitty dashed down the corridor, and was about halfway down when something hit her. She froze. A man clarified in her minds eye. He was the large man with the gun. He was loading it again. Heero and Duo were coming. He held out an object, and clicked it lightly. Kitty's eyes widened in terror, and she turned to look behind her. Three bombs were located in her view, and their little green lights flashed red. There was a scream. There was an explosion. Then it all went black. 


	15. Notice

Hi. This is Tashasaphi  
  
Thanx for reviewing, and thank your brother for me for reccomending other readers!  
  
Erm... I don't intend for it to become yaoi. Some of the gundam girls MIGHT, and i stress MIGHT be in it. They will be completely OOC however. Ya see, when i started this fic, I intended to include the gboys and insertions of myself and freinds. For example, Carona is a completly OOC version of my mate Caz. If the gdw girls are what the people want however, i'll include them! If yaoi is what people want, I'll include it! However... I'm not sure where I could use it. If you're looking for quality yaoi fantasy fiction check out my favourites list. There's a story there called the Seal of shindoshi. I've helped write that, and I'm in continued contact with the author. Chapter 10 is where I started helping.  
  
I'm sorry for not replying sooner. I've been away for the past 12 days, but im back and ready to type!  
  
aml  
  
Tashasaphi xx 


	16. Epilogue

Unfamiliar. Strange. Yet, not new in any way. The room was old, the furniture antique. perhaps dated. The curtains were tightly shut. Light was forbidden in this crypt. Cuatro Annilettia Winner, Deceased on the 13th of April, AC 197. However, it is said that when the person dies, the body continues to live. Hair and nails continue to grow. Cells keep dividing. Kitty Winner was dead, but that body kept living. A shell. An empty frame, bruised and battered, and a brain full of numbers and letters, formulae and data, but no memory. Who was the young woman who lay curled on that bed, hiding in the corner, facing the shadow ridden wall? Why did she scream at light and noise? Who was she? She asked herself that constantly. Flashing images plagued her mind constantly as she lay in a semi sleep, too afraid to drift away to slumber, to afraid to come to terms with her losses and wake up.  
  
The crowd screeched with horror as the house bulged into a fiery cloud, blasting heat and debris in all directions. Roof tiles clattered down, smashing at the toes of the dignitaries. Smashed flaming rafters flew skywards, the great billowing smoky clouds rising from the dilapidated building. A pair of blue eyes pinched shut. How could this happen? This was a place of peace, and now it lay in smouldering ruin. Was this the fate that lay before mankind? That those who hoped for peace were to fall into chaos? She wouldn't let herself cry. Not now. She was too strong for that. Sirens squealed in the distance above the deafening chatter and wailing of the politicians. Relena fell to her knees and sighed. It was all over. They had tried so hard to preserve the peace, but no. A war was going to begin, and she would have to fight again for what she wanted so much. She would have to watch Heero fight again. She sighed. "Get a hold of yourself, Qua." drifted into her ears. She turned to see Quatre Raberba Winner doubled over in the distance, eyes wide in terror, having what looked like a severe asthma attack. Relena struggled to her feet as she watched the youth collapse on the floor. Someone was at his side almost instantly. She sighed. At least he was alright. Now she, someone who was able bodied and uninjured, ought to help out the ambulance crews and such who had just arrived.  
  
"It's OK, I've found him!" Wu-fei called down his mic as he ran towards the blonde haired figure. As he approached, Quatre spun around, eyes wide, pupils dilated, surface glassy, panting like an over exercised dog, clutching his chest and gut. "Whoa, Get a hold of yourself, Quatre!" he cried and hastened his approach. Quatre seemed to collapse sideways onto the floor. Wu-fei frowned. Something was very wrong. He had heard rumours that Quatre could sense other people's emotions and pain, but this must have been something very serious. He dashed to Quatre's side and knelt down. A sort of wheezing noise afflicted the boys breathing, which was in stunted sobs. Quatre cried out and drew his knees up closer to his body. He was clutching his abdomen, breath almost halted in what seemed like agony. Wu-fei placed a hand gingerly on his friends arm. The blonde figure jumped at the touch before relaxing back into his almost spasm-like gasping and shaking. "Hey Quatre," Wu-fei said quietly, "just calm down, OK? We've gotta hurry. Trowa's at the carrier, Duo and Heero are on their way. You're in full view of all the politicians, and." Wu-fei broke off as Quatre stopped shaking. His eyes were still wide, glossy to look at. His breathing stopped. He was frozen. After a few moments, a slow solitary tear trickled out of his eye down his cheek. Wu-fei frowned. "Guys, Quat's gone coo-coo. I'm gonna get him to the carrier ASAP. hey!" Quatre staggered to his feet, leaning against a tree. "Have you ever felt a metal shaft piece your body?" Quatre said quietly, his fringe hiding his darkened eyes. Wu-fei got up. "If you mean a sword. then yes. and so have you." Quatre shook his head. "A shaft. A twisted, cruel piece of iron, falling through you. Have you ever felt that?" Wu-fei took a small step backwards. "No." he said quietly. "Its agony," came the reply. Quatre's face bore a dark shadow, covering the glittering blue eyes in a sinister veil. Wu-fei grabbed Quatre's arm. "Quatre, we have to go, now!" Wu-fei growled. Quatre pulled out of his grasp. "No!" he barked, "I can't go! Not now! I can't just leave! Not now!" Wu-fei sighed. "Yes now, now come on!" He tugged again. "SHE'S DEAD!!!" Quatre screamed, yanking away and falling against the tree. He sobbed a little, before sliding down the smooth back to the floor. Wu- fei watched him fall. "What did you say?" he finally hissed. A shivering sigh echoed in the suddenly silent air about the pair. "She's dead." Quatre repeated quite sensibly. "She has ceased to exist. She didn't make it. She kicked the bucket; I don't care how you put it! . and it's all my fault." Quatre got to his feet again and glanced at the building sadly "It's all my fault. Forgive me Allah." Quatre covered his mouth with his hand and took off towards the carrier.  
  
Wu-fei didn't move. He couldn't. It was Meiran all over again. Except this time it was all his fault. If he had stayed with her, she would have made it out. It wasn't Quatre's fault. Wu-fei had taken her into his care, and had failed. Quatre's word echoed in his mind. Quatre had felt everything she had gone through. Except that Quatre was alive. Quatre was going to see another sunrise. Quatre was going to live. Wu-fei felt a lump grow in his throat. A cold, cruel, twisted shaft of iron. A water wipe contorted by the forces of the explosion. Quatre had told him. Why? Because he knew that she meant a great deal to Wu-fei? Or because he wanted Wu-fei to feel pain and guilt? Both answers were valid. Wu-fei engaged his link up. "I'm on my way"  
  
The dignitaries were saved. 1000 spared, 1 casualty. Ten feet inside the now collapsed door of the building in a small cavern amongst the rubble lay a fragile figure. Her eyes were wide and clouded now with the steadily falling dust. Her features were a mix of uncontrolled relaxation, immense fear and pain. One hand lay gently out to the side, one leg twisted up beside her. The other leg was splayed slightly sideways. The left hand clutched a bloody shaft, which had embedded itself deep into the hard flooring of the entrance way. The long nails were thick with blood as the fluid crept across the cracked and dirtied floor. The mouth was slightly open, blood trickling from the corners. The nose was slightly twisted by the impact of flying rubble. From the ear crept a steady line of forking and twisting blood. Deep within the mind of this corpse however, beyond the blood stained golden strands of hair, beyond the delicate digits and delightful form of the body, deep within the brain, a small light glowed. It was dim and flickering, but it glowed. Images flickered within this light. A small boy. A ball. Another small boy. A man. A doll. A car. The man again. A young man. A television. A building. People. Another young man. A girl. A piece of blue paper. A jet. A face of someone very special. The light flickered once more, and then died. Five seconds passed. Small traces of light began to grow along the surface of the object, growing lighter and lighter. The light flashed red. A finger twitched. The light flashed yellow. The eyelid blinked away the dust. The light stopped flickering. A breath was drawn in, and a heart began to beat. The light burned green, blasting down optic nerves. Eyes flew open, taking in surrounds with a blank mind. There was a scream, louder and more eerie than any other. She was completely alone. The pain flooded her renewed system. She screamed and cried and yelled and yelped, but she was still alone. She couldn't be reached by anyone, or anything. She gritted her teeth against the burning pain. Blood stopped oozing and began to flow rapidly. She growled low in her throat as another hand flew to the shaft and with all the strength this broken body could muster pushed at the pipe. With the immense creaking of the rubble above, the further rupturing of tissues and vessels, and an incredible cry of agony and strain, the shaft was removed. The girl flattened herself again, panting heavily, tears flowing down her cheeks. Her brain flooded with numbers and designs and letters. She groaned. "You bastard," she whispered coldly, her eyes flashing a malicious vermilion, "what have you done to me?"  
  
Kitty blinked and opened her eyes. It had been two weeks since her release from the hospital now. She had gotten over the original shock, and the doctor only visited once a week now. She had acknowledged that she had died. She had acknowledged that she was still Kitty. She had acknowledged that Quatre was missing. Others were missing too. Her memory was so poor after the accident that she had to be told the name. Who was Quatre? The name was so familiar, but no image came with the name. If she could not remember her existence past her fourth birthday, apart from data and numbers, how could she be expected to remember a person? She frowned. People were so insensitive. They just didn't understand. No one had visited her. No one except the nurse. She resented that. She knew she had been an important person. Why else would she have been at a conference, and why else would she be in such lavish surrounds now? Kitty growled. Life was such a bitch sometimes. The door creaked open. Kitty shivered. She raised a hand to the bandages on her face. The devil woman wasn't coming to change them, was she? She didn't need to see this destroyed form of life. A broken nose, severe burns to the right side of the face, especially along the cheekbone, Cracked skull in six places, broken collar bone, dislocated shoulder, fractured wrist, three broken fingers on the right hand, one broken knuckle and two broken fingers on the left, four broken ribs, one punctured lung, severe damage to muscle tissue, duodenum, ileum, colon and left kidney, two dislocated hips, one dislocated knee, broken femur, shattered fibula, cracked tibia and a broken toe. Dried, cracked lips eased open. "Go away," a cracked voice said. The nurse almost dropped her tray. "Oh!" she cried, "you're awake!" "I would presume so," was the quiet croaky reply. This whole talking lark was quite difficult to an unpractised tongue. The nurse smiled in the darkness. "I've come to check you over," she said quietly, placing the tray down with a soft gesture. Kitty frowned. "Go away," she spat, "I don't want to be checked over. My wounds are infected, everything hurts and I can't remember which ways up or down. There. Now you know everything without the poking and prodding lark. Let's do this again some time." he voice trailed off and she coughed slightly, her damaged chest protesting. The damn ribs should have been fixed by now! They were pinned, after all. The nurse sighed. "I am under strict orders to check all your bandages. Next week you're supposed to start your rehabilitation period, if I have ensured you are well." "Are you deaf or just plain ignorant?" Kitty growled, forcing herself upwards. "I told you to leave me alone! Go away!" The nurse picked up a syringe. "I can do this the easy way or the hard way, Miss Winner." "Don't give me that!" Kitty barked. "I-am-fine. Get it through your thick skulls that what I need is solitude now! I want to be alone. I need to be alone to fix this head of mine! I don't need rehabilitation. It's been three months since the accident, you say?" "Yesterday would be three months, yes," the nurse said as she advanced, tapping the syringe lightly. She hated doing this, but the girl was so grouchy. "Three whole months. All my bones are healing; the muscles are recovering for the devastated tendons. The cuts just need to heal over a bit more and then I'll be ready to leave this cell! I don't need you! Bog off!" The nurse frowned and padded at a section of the young girls skin with the swab. Kitty growled. "If the cuts heal over the infection, you could die of blood poisoning," the nurse said bluntly, inserting the needle and ignoring the wince, "The tendons are never going to properly heal, they never do. The only muscle you've exercised recently is that foul tongue of yours, and so you won't be able to walk when you are ready to. You will need a frame." The liquid was pushed out of the tube. Kitty's vision dimmed. "I hate you," she hissed, before falling unconscious once more, and suffering the evil dreams that filled her blank mind. 


	17. Note to the Reviewer

Hi Pogo.  
  
This is private note. You didn't leave an email, so I couldn't say thanx for reviewing. Basically, School Days doesn't tie any loose ends up. It's not meant to. It's part of my little scheme.. Ok, so it isn't. Dangerous Pastime will tie a few of the ends up, and the rest. well you'll just have to wait for the fic after dangerous pastime. One problem- dangerous pastime is no where near completion- the fic afterwards is finished. And the fic after the fic after dangerous pastime. well it's almost as long as schooldays and nowhere near finished.  
  
Thanks for reviewing. Glad you liked it. Read Dangerous Pastime damnit! EVERYONE! *beats head against desk* 


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